One Headlight
by August Blue
Summary: One's a college student trying to make it, one's a deadbeat trying to find some help, and one's a broken soul just trying to get fixed. One screwed up family living in one screwed up apartment. Can they help themselves or fall apart at the seams?
1. Slow Suicide

_New fic from August! Though this one is staying! _

**_Pairings: _**_Rox/Nam, AkuRoku, Zemyx, Cleon, SoRiku, implied Hay/Seif and So/Kai _

_Don't kill me over some of those pairings. Just **read the fic**… _

**Chapter 1  
Slow Suicide **

When everything began to fall apart in their little worlds, none of them were quite sure. They couldn't quite put their fingers on the exact date, the exact time, or even really the exact person.

It could've been when a couple caring relatives forced a dead-beat into that stupid volunteer job. It could've been when that damn man walked through the front doors of the library, smoking that damn cigarette. It could've been when the girlfriend got sick of her idiot boyfriend constantly dragging her down with him, leaving him lonely. It could've been when the older brother got involved with the druggie next door. Or it could've even been when the poor, broken soul quickly agreed to help out a worried mother, just to escape his own problems, if only for a few weeks.

They really didn't know, and they really didn't care.

What really pissed them all off was if it wasn't for all that, none of them would be living the happiest life they could possibly ask for.

Does that make sense?

-oOoOoOo-

Groaning, blue eyes opened, wincing as the sun hit his eyes. "_Fuck_…" He moaned, pulling the blanket up over his head to hide from the angry brightness.

There was another round of pounding on the door, rousing him from his sleepy state just a little bit more.

"Sora! Get the fucking door!" Roxas whined loudly, curling tightly under his blankets.

He heard the front door open and shut, the knocking ceasing.

"About fucking time, Sora!"

"Roxas, you _do_ realize Sora's not here."

Roxas flung his blanket across the room, rolling over quickly to stare wide-eyed at the owner of the voice in his bedroom doorway.

Standing tall was a man, a man he only ever saw at family reunions, a man that called once a year for his birthday…late. The stoic blonde, quite notorious for his silent, calculative stares with his narrowed blue eyes. His hair in it's usual spikes, quite crazy really and somehow, the man managed to get them in the same spiked way everyday. Roxas doubted his hair was naturally that spiky, or blonde. It was simply _too_ perfect in every way.

The mostly silent blonde leaned against the door, lean muscled arms crossed over a broad chest, and amused gleam in his eyes, but his mouth didn't even _twitch_ in the direction of a smile. "You don't look happy to see me."

Roxas glared, standing up and ignoring the fact that he was half-naked, wearing only his boxers. "I'm _not_. What're you doing here, Cloud. I highly doubt you're here just to chat."

Cloud shrugged, pushing away from the doorframe, his arms still crossed. He wore a loose grey t-shirt and baggy blue-jeans. "Your mom sent me to stay with you—"

"_No_." Roxas said with a glare, pulling a pair of cotton pants on, pulling the drawstring tight. "More accurately, _hell_ no!"

Cloud shrugged again. "You have no say, really. Sora owns the apartment and he already agreed to letting me stay."

With a hiss, Roxas pulled on his t-shirt from the day before and trudged past the blonde man standing in his doorway. "I can't believe this. _Why_?"

The older male shrugged _again_. "I guess your mom and Sora are worried about you. Can you blame them?"

Roxas muttered darkly under his breath, pulling cheerios down from the cupboard to pour himself a healthy serving. "Why the fuck are they worried? I've done nothing wrong."

"What about your drinking? Does that fit in with your "done nothing wrong" thing? You do realize you're still under-aged for that." Cloud replied, opening the fridge to inspect the contents. "And this lack of food—"

"Look, Sora's been too busy to go out grocery shopping." Roxas interrupted sharply, eating his cereal fiercely with no milk.

"Why don't _you_ go get groceries?"

"Because I got my license taken away…" Roxas snarled back, chomping down hard on a cheerio, his tongue getting caught in the assault.

"I wonder why…" Cloud mused, glaring at his younger cousin from the corner of his eye. "I can't believe Sora let you get like this. What about that chick you've been seeing since…what? Ninth grade?"

"Namine…" Roxas muttered, actually beginning to feel shame. Poor Namine. She's gone through far too much with Roxas in the past couple years, she doesn't deserve what she's gone through.

Cloud 'hmm'ed and shrugged, _again_. "I got you a volunteering job at the library down the street. Just to keep you busy, seeing as you refuse to get a job."

"_What_?!" Roxas shrieked, whipping around.

Cloud turned his eyes toward his young cousin. "Sora actually got it for you. He knows one of the librarians, I guess."

The younger blonde reached up and rubbed his eyes fiercely with his palms, leaning back against the counter. "It's too _early_ for this!" He cried, trying to keep his anger in check. Whenever he and Cloud would see each other in person, the elder of the two always seemed to piss the younger off.

"It's noon, Roxas." Cloud corrected, counting to three in his head for Roxas' reaction.

He reacted on two.

"You know what, Cloud?" Roxas hissed, bringing his hands down to glare at the other male. "Fuck you, fuck you with something hard and very, _very_, spiky."

"I'm scared." Cloud replied sarcastically with a roll of his sky-blue eyes. "I put my stuff in the guest bedroom. I'm taking a nap. I drove all day."

"Too bad you didn't fall the fuck asleep behind the wheel." Roxas snarled viciously. "It'd save me the five-year-old lecture."

"I'll stop giving them if you stop deserving them." Cloud said, turning towards the doorway to the hallway. "Wake me up when Sora get's back."

With that, the tall blonde disappeared, leaving a seething Roxas behind in the cold, empty kitchen.

With a low growl, Roxas grabbed his half-empty pack of cigarette's and bowl of dry cereal and went out on the front steps, fully intending on getting lung cancer.

-oOoOoOo-

Roxas stood behind the cash register, watching the short, beefy man point at the different buttons, explaining the meaning of each one.

Honestly, they were labeled, it couldn't be _that_ hard to figure out.

"…and when you see anything get out of order, go fix it immediately." The man said in a muffled, nasally voice. "We don't want the patrons to think we're slobs. You'll also be in charge of the used books section. Let me explain it to you…"

And so began the long explanation of how the used books are just as important as the newer books. The man even went into an artsy-fartsy speech about how every used book has it's own story to tell, besides the one written on every yellowed and crinkled page.

Finally the man stopped talking, sighing. "No smoking in the library." He said, obviously smelling the cigarette smoke lingering in Roxas' hair. "And please refrain from smoking before you come here. I really don't want patrons complaining."

"Yeah, yeah." Roxas muttered, nodding.

The fat man glared over his pudgy cheeks. "Don't be too disrespectful, boy. Sora may have worked out a deal with Zexion to get you in here with skipping the necessary steps, but we can still kick you out."

Roxas rolled his blue eyes, running a hand through his blonde spikes. His hair was a more toned down version of Cloud's, crazier and less perfect. "I don't even _want_ to _be_ here."

The large man just pointed a fat, sausage-link finger at Roxas, a glare still set in place. "Behave, or else I'll tell Sora."

"Ooh!" Roxas waved his hands around before walking around the counter. "I'm terrified, fatty!"

With a snort of pure loathing, the large man walked out, muttering darkly under his breath.

Sitting down on the stool, Roxas gripped the countertop and spun side-to-side absentmindedly, staring dazedly at the doors.

_'Working everyday of the week…except for Sundays…from nine in the morning to seven at night…in the library gift shop…'_ Roxas closed his eyes with a low groan. _'I'm not even getting fucking paid for this bullshit.'_

Opening his eyes again, he turned his attention to the clock to stare at it intently, willing the hour hand to fly around the man revolutions it would have to make before he could bid the library farewell.

_'I don't even **read** anything!'_ Roxas glared, balling his hands into fists. _'That's probably why Sora chose this hellhole for me. Damn him for sticking his ugly fat nose where it doesn't belong! And then telling mom about that **one** DUI charge…fucking mama's boy…then the woman had the **nerve** to send Cloud! And all three of the bitches kept it all a secret! Dammit…'_

Cursing every family member he knew of, he turned his eyes to the doorway, watching people walked in and stroll briskly over to the library.

_'This…is going to suck…so hard…'_

**TBC **

_Short, yes, I know. But I don't want to give too much away in only the first chapter. I already did, sort of. _

_So this story…I don't know how far along it's going to go. I mean…I just got the idea as Catching My Soul on Fire is coming to a close. I didn't have a solid idea really until today. I'm working on the epilogue of Catching My Soul on Fire, but I don't have enough fluff in my life to really write that right now. I've actually been quite angsty these past couple of days. I got angsty when school started up again. I wonder if there's a connection… _

_This story is going to be pretty angsty and maybe short, maybe long. I dunno. I'm starting this just as blindly as I started Catching My Soul on Fire. I dunno if you're going to like it, and I dunno where I'm going to go with it. _

_Anyway… _

**_DISCLAIMER_**_: Don't own Kingdom Hearts 2 or anything affiliated. I don't own Slow Suicide by JamisonParker, either. _

_Read, love, review, repeat. _

_Number, kupo,  
August Blue _


	2. Turn the Engine

_Okies…chapter two! Yay loves! _

_I changed the name of the story, cuz I was listening to the song One Headlight by The Wallflowers and thought that the song was sort of fitting, at least the sound of it was very fitting for the way this story is going. So…yeah…lawls! _

_Anyway! _

_Hope you enjoy, muchos! _

**Chapter 2  
Turn the Engine **

Cloud made his way down the grey stone steps, trying to ignore the building headache in his skull, the steady pressure and heat trying to stab its way out. He always got this whenever he visited the brothers. Roxas was so incredibly mopey and Sora the exact opposite.

Aside from that, their neighbor liked to blare music come mid-afternoon and he could hear yelling and screaming from across the greenbelt at the bottom of Sora's apartment's steps.

The once-upon-a-time-orange stucco was faded to a pasty salmon colour, cracks littering the walls. The interior walls were paper-thin, so you could hear _everything_ that went on in the apartment next door.

For being a happy little bastard, Sora sure did pick the not-so-great of living quarters.

Cloud, though, was being unfair. The small brunette was juggling college, a job, _and_ taking care of his younger, idiot brother. He couldn't afford that much. It was a wonder that the boy found a three-room apartment with two bathrooms, a full kitchen, and even a small "living room" within his budget.

Then again, this was a seedier neighborhood for the boy to be living in.

Roxas, however, belonged here. This is where the dead-beats belonged. The idiots with a tendency to let their lives fall down around their ears if someone didn't come running to rescue them belonged here.

Cloud scowled as he stood at the bottom of the stairs, staring at the browning greenbelt angrily.

But, Cloud had to reason with himself; at least he got away from home, them, _him._

"Wow, Roxas, you go through a growth spurt since the other day?"

Cloud whipped around at hearing the deep voice, glaring slightly.

Behind him stood a tall man, just slightly taller than himself, with long, layered brown hair and cold, gray-blue eyes. A scar ran down between his eyes, dark against his paler skin. Three belts hung crookedly around his hips, tight black jeans fitting every contour of the man's shapely legs.

Cloud, though he refused to admit it, felt something tighten in his chest at seeing the attractive man.

Taking a cigarette out of his mouth, he crossed his arms over his black-vested chest. "You're not Roxas. Sorry."

With that, the man moved toward the steps, big black boots thudding against the pavement dully. He sat down on the second step, left foot remaining on the sidewalk, the other tucked up tighter to him, resting on the first step. "What the fuck is your kind doing _here_?"

Cloud glared down at the man, scrunching his nose at the cigarette.

The man took in Cloud's expression, looked at the cancer-stick thoughtfully before dropping it to the ground and snuffing it out. "Sorry, we're not quite used to city pretty-boys showing up."

Exhaling slowly, trying to refrain from doing to the man what the man did to the cigarette, Cloud crossed his arms. "Who do you think you are that makes it right to talk to me like that?"

The man put his hands up defensively. "Just making conversation, stranger. The closest thing we have to your kind is Sora, and he's gotten used to _us_."

Cloud's blue eyes narrowed, his arms tightening around his ribcage. "What's your name?"

The brunette's blue eyes flickered up to meet Cloud's, a small, almost non-existent, smirk twisting his features ever-so-slightly. "Squall Leonhart, but I go by Leon. You ever call me Squall, I'll have to kill you." The man, now dubbed Leon, held out his hand for Cloud. "You?" 

Cloud stared at the hand for a moment before unlatching his own hand's death grip on his ribs to shake Leon's hand. "Cloud. Cloud Strife."

"You related to the Strifey's then?" Leon asked, cocking his head slightly to the side, thrusting his thumb over his shoulder.

Cloud nodded, returning his arms to their previously crossed position. "Their cousin. Roxas is going downhill, his mom got worried, sent me in."

Leon nodded, looking up the stairs. "Yeah, Roxas isn't the most…on track person. He's one of the most stable, though."

Cloud tilted his head slightly, narrowing his blue eyes. "What about you?"

Leon stood, brushing off the back of his pants quickly, kicking at his cigarette butt on the ground before looking up at Cloud with a more defined smirk. "I'll let you decide that. Wanna go out for coffee or something?"

Cloud's eyes widened a bit before narrowing in suspicion. "Why?"

Leon shrugged lightly. "We don't see many adults here. This place is cheap as hell, so only a lot of teen parents, druggies, and college kids ever live here. The only adults I see regularly are Demyx's, and I hardly count them as humans, so they don't count."

The blonde tilted his head before shrugging. "I could use the chance to get away from here."

Smirking, Leon sighed. "We could go to the coffee place down the street. It isn't too clean, but without a vehicle—"

"We could take Fenrir, my bike." Cloud offered cautiously. "That is, if you aren't opposed to clutching to another man."

Leon's smirk got wider. "I'm not at all opposed to that. In fact, I prefer it that way." With that, Leon winked and began walking towards the apartment parking lot.

Groaning, Cloud slapped his hands to his face and followed the brunette.

-oOoOoOo-

Roxas laid back, watching the clouds above him flit past, fading into wisps in the light of the set sun. A cool breeze blew over Roxas' dozing form, making the hairs on his arms stand.

Shivering, Roxas allowed himself a smile.

It was like the good old days. Like high school. Life had been so much easier to understand, easier to live through, easier to be happy.

Now it was a year since he graduated. He was about to turn nineteen, and all he had to brag about was getting arrested for DUI. Impressive.

He liked to abandon life and climb to the top of the clock tower above the train station from time to time. Back in high school, he and his friends would meet up there, eat some ice cream, occasionally do homework, and watch the sun set in content, easy conversation.

It had been a good long while since he saw his friends. Three of the four went on to out-of-state college and stopped calling and writing after the first couple months of leaving.

The only one that stayed behind was Namine, his girlfriend of going on five years. She was going to the same college as Sora, seeking out a degree in the arts. She really loved to paint and sketch. It was her passion.

Roxas was more often than not her model. He was the only one that would put up with getting a call then getting dragged through the doorway and pushed onto the couch and almost stripped to nothing, but then _not_ have sex. Instead, he'd have to sit, or lay, or stand still while she sketched, totally concentrated on her task at hand. When she was done, she'd always make him dinner, as she had always called him over after school, and they would cuddle and watch TV until her parents came home from work.

At first, he enjoyed being her drawing subject. She always chose _him_ and even if whoever she drew didn't look like him, he knew that he was her inspiration. He loved being her inspiration. He looked forward to when she would be in a drawing mood, which was almost everyday, and would always answer the phone with laughter, always saying "be there in a bit, babe" before she could even speak.

Then, after about two years of dating the blonde beauty, he grew tired of just stretching across her couch in his boxers and staring at her ceiling blankly. Well, in the beginning, he'd watch her. Watch her every movement, really, and just _love_ her for being her. But he grew bored with it and eventually began telling her "not today, babe, I'm sorry" almost every time she called.

By the third year of their relationship, Namine had started to mix things up, asking him to model with someone else, fully clothed, of course. Usually it would be Olette or some other girl they knew. Just standing there doing some pose or another. It was never anything intimate, just some random pose. Sometimes Sora would be roped into the modeling.

Back then, he and Sora were incredibly close, even with Sora being three years older. They talked about _everything_ together. Sora had been his closest friend.

One particular "modeling session," Sora and Roxas cuddled together, sitting on the floor and leaning against Namine's bed, both feigning to be fast asleep. She titled it "Brotherly Love" or something cliché like that and got the highest grade in her art class. It was one of her most compelling pieces. She was always able to capture the right mood, but that picture captured it perfectly and just looking at it, you were filled with such warmth and happiness.

It was at the fourth year, their final year in high school, that Roxas began losing interest in Namine. She just became routine. She must've felt the change, the loss of fire, because she began calling less and less. But still, they would do couple things, they would go over to each other's house—by then Roxas was living with Sora—and they could still hold a deep conversation. They seemed more like friends-with-benefits than anything.

It was past year that things began going downhill. Roxas didn't know what changed in him. He just became an asshole to Namine, to everyone. He and Sora became strangers, living in the same apartment, ignoring each other's presence. He and Namine stopped calling each other, and after his DUI charge, Namine went out of her way to see him less and less. She claimed she had classes, but Roxas knew her schedule.

Even if Namine didn't hold Roxas' lustful interest, he still loved her, and even though he was an asshole to her most of the time, he would still lie awake and beat himself up with guilt. He would think up a million different ways to apologize to her, but the next time he'd see her, she'd have on the soft, yet still fiery smile of hers and he knew he was instantly forgiven. She'd forgive him anything, even after have the horrible things she's been dragged through. Even his smoking habit that formed roughly seven months prior didn't hinder her constant "I love you"s that she would give him whenever they happened to be on a date.

He loved her, yes, but he lost interest in being _with_ her.

Even with knowing that, he couldn't bring himself to break up with her. They'd been dating since the summer vacation of eighth grade. Yeah, they broke up once in ninth grade over something some upper-classmen said—was it Riku? Roxas couldn't remember, but he knew Sora knew him in elementary—but that was for less than seven hours. He highly doubted that counted as a real break-up.

"I knew I'd find you up here." A soft voice said from above him.

Opening his eyes quickly—he hadn't realized they were closed—he was staring up into the face of the subject of his thoughts.

" Nam?" He questioned, sitting up and crossing his legs.

Namine sat down with a huff, letting her legs dangle over the edge, swinging and thudding dully against the wall. "I went by the library to see you after my morning classes and you weren't there."

Roxas turned so he was sitting the same way as his girlfriend. "You didn't tell Sora, did you?"

"No." Namine said, shaking her head, her eyes scanning the neighborhoods surrounding the train station, her eyes turning to focus on the taller buildings of downtown in the distance. "But your boss did."

Roxas grimaced slightly. "Damn fat bastard."

Namine looked over at Roxas, eyes narrowed. "Roxas, why are you like this? You were never this cold, especially to Sora."

Though he was shocked by her small lecture, he'd heard it enough before, he still widened his eyes in shock. "I don't know, Nam. I just…I don't know."

Namine shook her head, laughing humorlessly. "You're destroying yourself, Roxas."

"You've told me before." Roxas snapped, glaring at the girl. "I've heard it enough."

"You've heard what I'm saying, but have you ever _listened_, Roxas?" The woman asked, voice still soft, ignoring his harsh tone. "You can hear me just fine when I'm telling you that your hurting yourself, but since you haven't _changed_ anything, you obviously haven't listened to me."

Then she stood and he could see the goosebumps on her legs. She was only wearing a short white sundress and white sandals. With her light blonde hair and wide blue eyes, she looked the personification of pure innocence. Once upon a time, Roxas was sure he himself looked just like that. He and Namine had a striking resemblance, but his hair was more golden than hers was platinum. They looked like two angels when they were together.

"Roxas, I can't deal with your problems anymore." She said, looking down at him. She sighed, running a hand back through her hair. "This should have happened a _long_ time ago, but I'm ending this—"

"You're just going to ditch me?" Roxas asked, raising an eyebrow, not hurt in the least.

"Look, Roxas. I was never _there_ to begin with it seems. You shut me out a _long_ time ago! Back in high school! I don't think I'd ever be able to help you out of what you're doing to yourself." She sat back down, grabbing Roxas' hand tightly, tears forming in her eyes. "Rox…this is the _last_ thing I want to do to you. I never want to hurt you more than you're hurting yourself, but…it seems being with me isn't helping."

"But whose going to…to help now?" For the first time in months, he actually felt a good Cry coming on, the tightening in his throat growing painful. "I need help, Namine."

She sighed, laying her head on his shoulder. "I don't…seem to be able to help you. What about Sora? Why don't you—"

"Sora's idea of 'helping' is calling in our asswipe emo of a cousin and banning together to force me into some bullshit volunteer job." Roxas growled, closing his eyes and laying his cheek against Namine's hair.

"He's just trying to get you out of that apartment." Namine murmured softly.

"Well it's not helping…" He grumbled, hand flipping over so Namine's palm rested against his.

"Maybe," She began, cautiously. "You'll _find_ the person who'll help you?"

With a bitter laugh, Roxas shook his head. "Doubtful."

Namine lifted her head to glare at Roxas. "How are you planning on finding someone to help you if you're too stuck up to let Sora and your cousin in? How are you going to get better if you don't go out and _meet_ people?"

"What if I don't _want_ to get better?" Roxas asked, testing.

"You can't convince me you're happy with fucking your life away." Namine retorted quickly, anger flashing in her eyes dangerously. Roxas flinched at her effortless use of the curse, knowing her well enough to know that she was downright _pissed off_. "Plus, the rest of the gang are visiting next week. I doubt you really want _Olette_ seeing you in this shitty of a state, let alone Pence or Hayner."

"You expect me to get better in a _week_?" Roxas shrieked angrily, eyes wide and full of dangerous anger. "What crack are you _on_?"

"I should be asking _you_ that." She shot back, earning herself a fresh wave of angry and hurt tears.

"Who the fuck told you I was doing _drugs_, Namine?" He asked in a whisper. "And why the fuck did you believe them?"

Namine sputtered for a bit, face flushing in shame ad guilt. "I-I'm sorry. Just…the neighborhood you associate with and…your current rise in…dangerous habits. I mostly assumed you were into it."

Eyes narrowed, Roxas wiped away his tears. "I _live_ there, I don't _associate_ with it."

Nodding mutely, she looked away, clearing her throat. "Can we…get back on topic?"

"Okay." Roxas spat out bitterly. "Where was I? Oh yeah! You expect—"

"Don't be such an asshole, Roxas—"

"Then stop being such a bitch!"

"—and I don't expect you to be _better_, just _presentable_. Have you _looked _in a mirror?" She shot back, unperturbed by his attempted interruption.

"I look fine." Roxas growled, continuing to brush away tears from his cheeks violently.

"No, you don't." She replied, shaking her head. "You look like shit, Roxas. Compared to what you looked like back in school, you look like a totally different man. Believe me, Roxas, I drew you how often, I know _exactly_ how much you've changed."

Roxas deflated, looking down at his knees. "Then just…keep them from seeing me."

"I can't do that." Namine replied softly, all anger leaving her voice. "They're your _friends_ and the only way I can stop them from seeing you is by telling them you're dead, then they'd want to see you grave."

Chuckling genuinely, nodding. "You're right." Sighing, Roxas looked up at the sky, the tears finally stopping. "I guess I'll give it a try. Meeting…new people, I mean."

Namine tilted her head to the left. "Do you have any other friends besides me?"

Roxas shrugged slightly. "I talk to Demyx from across the grass area whenever he's outside. Leon downstairs usually comes out for a smoke around the same time I do, so we chat with each other for a bit."

"Wow, Roxas. How sad." Namine muttered, shaking her head slightly. "Roxas, I'm still here for you. If you ever…just have to talk, I'm here for you."

Roxas smiled softly back over at her, nodding. "And if you ever need a model I'm here for you, too. Okay?"

Laughing, Namine nodded, reaching up to brush her hand along Roxas' cheek. "Get better, Roxas. I miss your smile."

Sighing, he nodded. "Me, too…I guess…"

Namine leaned forward, pressing her lips lightly against his and stood up. "I have to go. I have a lot of homework to do and Mooks needs a walk."

Roxas looked up and raised an eyebrow. "Tell Mooks 'hi' for me, will you?"

"Of course." She laughed, walking over to the doorway. "Give me a call sometime, and when you do, you'd better be telling me about people you've met."

"Yes, mother." Roxas joked, waving to her as she disappeared through the door, her footsteps fading as she walked down the stairs.

-oOoOoOo-

Sora growled as he heard Roxas' key in the lock and wrenched the door open, startling the younger man into stepping back.

"Why didn't you go today?" Sora bellowed, shoving his brother back outside. "I'm _trying_ to help you Roxas! Why can't you just _cooperate_ with me?"

"Why is always about _you_, Sora?" Roxas yelled back, shoving his brother back instinctively. "It's always _your_ problems—"

"Shut the fuck up, Roxas! _I'm_ the one giving you a roof over your head, and don't you _dare_ say that you could just go back to mom's because I _know_ she would be doing way worse to you right now. Don't give me that look, I know you were going to say it." Sora glared, pointing his finger at his brother condescendingly. "_I'm_ the one working three jobs to pay for this shithole _and_ college _and **your** _fuck-ups! _I'm_ the one going to college to get a better job and move the fuck out of this place! _I'm_ the one going to class and work everyday, wondering 'is Roxas going to get shit-faced again and almost kill himself _again_?' _I'm_ the one that has to worry while you sit on your _ass_ all day drinking and smoking!"

Roxas flinched at every word coming out of his brother's mouth, closing his eyes finally at the end. "Sora, I _know_ you _really_ don't want to hear this cuz I _know_ you aren't going to believe it, but I'm sorry. For…you know. Being such a fuck-up."

Sora's anger fizzled out and he sighed tiredly, closing his eyes and bringing one of his hands up to massage the bridge of his nose. "That was your first apology. I guess…I'll take it with whatever trust you still have."

"Thanks." Roxas muttered, before adding "I guess…"

"So why didn't you go today?" Sora asked, letting his hand fall to his side as he leaned against the doorway. "I _really_ don't appreciate getting a call in class."

"I just…had things on my mind." The blonde replied, letting his eyes fall to look at the floor. "And…I really thought your ways of…punishment were bullshit."

"I'm not _punishing_ you, Rox—"

"I know that _now_!" Roxas growled back, eyes looking up at Sora in a glare. "Namine found me and…well she broke up with me and…just…I can't explain it. I'll go tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. Just…give me another chance."

Sora crossed his arms, frowning before sighing. "I've given you more than one chance on everything…but…okay. Whatever. I ordered pizza." He muttered.

"You seem tense, Sora. Maybe you should go rut with Kairi for a bit." Roxas said, completely serious.

"You're not the only one made single today, Rox." Sora grumbled, looking away.

With a sigh, Roxas pushed past his older brother to get into the apartment, shutting the door quietly behind himself.

Groaning, Sora leaned back against the door, thumping his head back against the wood, grinding his teeth together. "God _damn_ why do I put up with this shit?"

With that, Sora turned around and opened the door, walking in and slammed the door shut.

**TBC**

_I don't expect **anyone** to sympathize with Roxas. I actually don't… _

_And…oh wow…six…pages…that's thanks to… _

_Two hours of nothing to do in English but write, the rest of the day brooding and writing in my notebook, the evening thinking about it with my wife sleeping over and watching Transformers, and finally four straight hours of writing and an hour of watching Season II of the Kingdom Hearts Stupid Files (hilarious, watch it!), and I give yoooouuuuu a masterpiece, considering my state of mind recently. I'm **extremely** proud of this chapter. There's a lot of writing and it's more than dialogue. You might not realize it, but I **hate** writing dialogue. _

_I'm still hoping this makes it big like CMYSoF. That'd make my day. On the subject of CMYSoF, I will be writing the last chapter, I promise. I just haven't had enough fluff in me to do it. I want it to be perfect, so I'm waiting for the perfect time in my life to write it. As soon as I get into the groove of school being back it, the happy **should** come back. Promise. _

**_Thanks go to: _**

_Lifes.Lover: You prolly aren't wrong, lawls. And yesh, he is quite angsty. _

_Takika: You are really in for some angst, yesh! _

_Lyra: Thank youz very much! _

**_-:love:- thanks for reviewing! _**

**_DISCLAIMER: _**_I do not own KH2 or anything affiliated with it and I do not own One Headlight by the Wallflowers! _

_Read, love, review, repeat! _

_Number, kupo,  
August, Blue _


	3. Black

_Woo Chapter Three! _

_Anyway… _

**Chapter 3  
Black **

Cloud leaned against the back of his chair, sipping at what had to be his fourth mocha. He was beginning to shake, and he was starting to think he should be worried.

"So where are you from, Strife?" Leon finally asked after a good hour of comfortable silence. 

"Hollow Bastion." He replied shortly, finishing off his hot beverage and leafing through his wallet for more money.

Leon choked on his cappuccino, spitting a bit out on the table between the two men. Continuing to hack and dry-heave, Cloud just stared at him, wide-eyed.

"Shit, Squall, you okay?" He asked after the man finally calmed down.

"Yeah, thanks for helping."

"My pleasure." Cloud replied monotonously, scowling as he found he had no money left for another mocha. _'Shit, that stuff is addictive…'_

"Do _not _call me Squall, Strife. Anyway, when I called you a city pretty-boy, I didn't actually think you _were_ one!" Leon chuckled. "Damn, not even _family_ would be able to drag me out of the comforts of the city."

Cloud glared. "Hollow Bastion isn't that great. I think I like better out here."

"Uh…why?" Leon asked, raising a fine, brown eyebrow. "Especially to my apartment complex. The rest of Twilight Town, especially around the college, is nice, but…seriously."

Rolling his eyes, Cloud let his head fall backwards. "A lot of Hollow Bastion is Slum Town Central. How do you know I'm from the richer area?"

Leon just laughed. "Your clothes don't have Slum Town Central written on them. Neither does that shiny black bike of yours." Leon nodded his head to the window, glancing at Cloud's pride and joy. "And why'd you leave? You have someone at home, don't you?"

Cloud's head flew up to stare wide-eyed at the brunette, who was sipping at his cappuccino now. "How'd…how'd you know?"

Leon shrugged. "Wild guess?" Then he pointed. "And the fading hickey sorta gave it away. I wouldn't peg you for a slut, either."

One of the blonde's hands flew up to slap against the side of his neck as he flushed furiously. "Why the fuck are you so observant?"

"Nothing better to do?" Leon offered. "Plus, you're pretty silent, and you keep zoning out, so I have all the time in the world to just stare at you half of the time."

Cloud glared, hand still plastered to his neck, the blush deepening. Why the _hell_ did having the cocky brunette staring at him seem so appealing to Cloud?

"Stare at someone else." The blonde growled, turning his red face away from the other man.

Sighing, the brunette looked around. "No one's here other than the adolescent, zit-faced girl behind the counter. Plus," was this man always full of pluses? "I don't think you really _want_ me to stare at someone else."

"Stop being an ass." The blonde muttered, retreating into himself some more.

"Okay." Leon said, flipping some hair out of his face, returning to sipping away at his drink, cold blue eyes trained on Cloud dutifully.

Sighing, trying to calm down the heat in his face, Cloud stood. "It's…dark out. We should head back to the apartments."

Leon pulled a face, probably the closest thing to a pout he could manage, and shook his head. "Two more drinks, on me."

Before Cloud could protest, the other man jumped up and walked up to the counter, his black boots _ka-thunk_ing on the hardwood floor noisily.

And Cloud couldn't help it. He really tried _not_ to, but please, who wouldn't? He watched Leon's butt, shaped to perfection by tight black jeans, and Cloud couldn't stop his wandering gaze from traveling down the man's legs.

The blush returning full-force, the blonde sat down quickly, glaring out the window at the dark street.

"Hey, Strife, you okay?"

Cloud glared at the attractive man that had just sat down, decidedly blaming Leon for being so damn sexy. "Just…fine…"

Leon pushed the hot beverage towards the blonde. "Okay, then."

They sat through their final two drinks in silence, Leon courteously averting his gaze to other things.

Finally done, both quite twitchy from their overloads of caffeine, they walked out to Cloud's monstrous black and gold bike, the blonde quickly straddling it and waiting for Leon to follow.

The brunette, for the first time that evening, was hesitant before he did anything.

"You planning on walking home?" Cloud asked, glancing over his shoulder.

Shrugging, Leon swung his leg over the bike, seating himself flush against Cloud's back, arms wrapping loosely, cautiously, around the blonde's slender waist.

Cloud tried to conceal the shiver that raced down his spine, but sadly, he just couldn't. At Leon's deep chuckle, the vibrations against the blonde's back almost making him shudder, Cloud growled.

"I'm almost too caffeinated to drive." Cloud whined slightly, starting Fenrir and speeding off, Leon reflexively tightening his grasp around Cloud's middle.

Luckily, the blonde's groan was covered with the roar of his bike, and he managed to make it to the apartments without losing control of the bike or his sanity.

Both men walked in silence to the stairway dividing their paths and Cloud reached into his pocket for his keys.

"_Shit_…" He groaned, closing his eyes tightly, letting his head fall back. "Forgot my damn apartment key…I wasn't expecting to go out."

"Isn't it on your keychain?" Leon asked, pointing at the silver house key next to the key for his bike.

Cloud looked at it and shook his head. "That's for Se—my apartment back in Hollow Bastion." He stared at the ground, closing his eyes again in thought.

"Then, why don't you go knock or something?"

The blonde sighed, looking up the stairs, seeing no light on through the blinds in the window next to the door. "The boys are in bed already. Sora's so tired lately, I really don't want to deprive him of what little sleep he can get."

"Point. You can stay at my place, then. It's not nearly as spacious as the ones upstairs, though." Leon offered. "The downstairs apartments are cut in half." He explained with a shrug.

"Okay?" Cloud muttered, raising an eyebrow.

Sighing, Leon put his hands behind his head. "There's only one room. You can have my bed, I'll take the—"

"I'll take the couch, it's your apartment."

"And you're my guest." Leon replied back quickly. "What kind of friend would I be if I let you sleep on the couch?"

"Oh, now we're friends?" Cloud challenged, stepping away from the other man slightly.

Leon shut his mouth tightly, showing the first signs of annoyance with the blonde man all night. "Okay, not friends. Let me rephrase that. What kind of host would I be if I let you sleep on the couch?"

"I refuse to take your bed!"

"So do I." Leon sighed, crossing his arms. "You take the bed, or we share it. Your call, Strife."

Glaring, Cloud tossed some stray hair out of his face. "I'll take the bed then."

"Damn…" Leon muttered, turning to walk over to his front door. "You're no fun, Strife."

-oOoOoOo-

Roxas marveled at the countertop, listening to the bustling out in the main lobby of the library. _'What a lovely shade of vomit…'_

Looking up, staring blankly at the main doors, he heaved his fourth sigh in the last five seconds, thumping his foot against the cupboard door at his feet. He smiled thinly at everyone who happened to look in his direction before crawling back into his emo corner.

Groaning, Roxas eyed some books on a shelf that needed straightening and went to fix them.

Spending an unreasonably long time straightening the small books, Roxas turned around to see and odd group looking at the used books section.

Slipping back behind the counter, seating himself as comfortably as he could on his tall wooden stool, Roxas stared at the group of three.

_'Weird…ass…hair…'_ He thought, arching an eyebrow high on his forehead. _'Must be tourists…'_

One of them, a man, had shoulder-length pink hair with sunglasses on top of his head in a sort of make-shift headband. Beside him was a grumpy looking woman with blonde hair and…antennas?

Roxas raised his eyebrow higher, beginning to wonder if he _did_ crawl into a deep hole and miss the current fashion change.

The third person in their group _screamed_ for attention just by standing there. His blazing red hair shot out the back of his head in crazy spikes, mimicking the fire the colour suggested. His back was to Roxas, clad in a long black jacket, uncharacteristic in regards to the current, sweltering summer heat.

_'Damn he's skinny…'_ Roxas thought, flinching at the thought. _'How is he **not** snapped in half by the wind?'_

"Hey kid, I'd like to buy this book?"

Roxas looked up, not realizing he had zoned out, and his cerulean eyes met deep jade. Averting his eyes quickly, for fear he'd be stuck staring, Roxas spotted dark tear-drop tattoos under the green eyes. He focused on the rest of the face and realized it was the man with the red hair. There was a cigarette poised perfectly between thin lips.

"No smoking in the library. I can't smoke here, neither can you." Roxas said, eyeing the cigarette hungrily before letting his eyes fall on the book in the man's hands. Roxas snorted. "Smut romance? Nice pick." He muttered sarcastically, grabbing the book to scan it through.

"Shut up, kid. It's for my girlfriend."

Roxas looked up at the red-haired man just as he nodded over his shoulder at the blonde woman who was currently bitching out the pink-haired man.

The man took the cigarette out of his lips, looking around for a place to put it out before deciding the countertop would do.

Scowling slightly, Roxas brushed the ashes off onto the floor and handed the man the book back. "Wow, she needs pleasure from a book? You must suck." Roxas muttered before he could stop himself, flinching at the man's eye twitch.

"Do you treat your customers like this often?" The man asked, his eye twitching again.

Roxas shrugged. "If my brother wasn't a douche, I wouldn't be here, therefore I wouldn't have customers. Now, I'd rather it be that way, so take your fuck-buddy and the fag and get outta here."

The man just stared, shock evident in his eyes, anger painted on his face. Finally, he cleared his throat and left, just as Roxas commanded, grabbing the blonde's hand. The pink-haired man just followed, glancing back at Roxas after seeing the look of rage on his friend's face.

Sighing, Roxas deflated, beating himself up for being so cruel. He didn't even know _why_ he had said those things. They just…flew out of his mouth before they had time to stop.

Groaning, he let his head thump down onto the counter and seconds later he received a little tap on the back of his head.

Looking up, Roxas contorted his face in a bit of anger at seeing the lilac-haired man in front of him. "Yes, Zexion?"

"Don't fall asleep." Zexion said shortly, leaning against the counter. "Your 'boss' will hurt you."

"Fatty McFat Fat? I think not." Roxas rolled his eyes before settling them on Zexion's icy-blue eye, the other one being hidden behind a wall of purple hair. "What is the _real_ reason you're here?"

"I was wondering if you've seen Demyx yet." He stated, straightening up. "He usually shows up by now."

"Aww, is pedophile Zexy wuhwwied?" Roxas asked, making a baby-pout face. Again, his mouth was working faster than is brain.

Zexion glared. "Don't be a jackass." With that, Zexion turned on his heel and walked out of the gift shop, pausing to stare at the main doors intently before storming up the stairs to the second level of the library.

Roxas groaned again and slammed his head down on the counter, startling an elderly woman who was busy rummaging through the used books rack. Waving his apology, Roxas glared at the clock, thankful to see that he only had an hour left of torture.

-oOoOoOo-

_Cold eyes. Cold hands. Leather. Lot's of leather. _

_Cold. That's all he felt. Cold. Though sweat, salty, sticky, humid sweat coated his body, flooded into his eyes, stinging, blinding. Cold. _

_Paranoia. Cold. _

_Brush of hair. Flash of silver. Twisting fingers. Blood. Shrieks. Laughter. Cold. _

_Screams. Cold. Fear. Terror. _

_Love. _

Cloud shot up in bed, shivering from the leftovers of a nightmare, glancing around an unfamiliar room. "Oh shit…" He whispered, looking down at himself to see he was, indeed, still dressed.

Then he saw Leon, clad in only a small white towel around his waist, come out of the closet next to the bed with a handful of clothes.

"Morning, Strife. More accurately, evening. You sleep like the dead, Strife, it's almost five." Cloud glanced at the clock to confirm Leon's claim and groaned. "I just took a shower. Sora stopped by this morning asking about you. He left the door unlocked for you to get in." Leon muttered, moving towards the door, goosebumps rising on his chilled, wet flesh. Cloud tried to ignore the way the brunette's muscles rippled under pale skin, but it was impossible to do so.

Leon's body almost _demanded_ immediate attention.

"How'd he know to come asking here?" Cloud asked suspiciously.

"Just asking if I'd seen you around. I told him you were here." Leon replied, shrugging. "And I only feed friends, so if you want to eat, you'd better get out of here."

Glaring, Cloud crawled out of the bed, straightening his shirt that was riding up and slipped his feet into his shoes. He didn't miss the way the tall man eyed him, shivering under his gaze. "Bye, Squall." He said quickly, leaving the apartment at almost a sprint and hurried up the stairs.

As he ascended, a head of flaming red hair at the top of the steps caught his attention and he paused at the top step. "You the neighbor?"

The man turned, green eyes narrowed, red eyebrow raised. "Uh, not till today."

Cloud nodded before climbing that final step and moving to the door. "Tell your roommate to _not_ play his shitty music loud enough for Wonderland to hear."

"Sure thing." With that, the man disappeared into the apartment, barking a greeting to any occupants within. Well, it was more of a "Riku, get your ass out here and say fuckn' hello".

Cloud shook his head and opened the door, shutting it with a little more than a slam behind him.

-oOoOoOo-

Sora groaned, dragging his feet down the walkway between two of the buildings, a messenger bag on his left shoulder, thumping against his hip, and a pizza box balanced on his right arm. His keychain was hooked on his right pinky, the keys jingling noisily.

One good thing that could be said about his day was that Roxas' boss called to say that the bratty blonde _did_ show up.

About to climb the steps to his apartment, a figure sitting on the top step stopped him. "Demyx—"

"Hey Sora!" A ridiculously cheery voice replied.

Sora quickly climbed the stairs, putting the pizza and his bag down on the ground next to the boy. Grabbing Demyx's face between his hands, he inspected it. "What's up?" He asked, looking into Demyx's teal eyes before going back to his inspection.

He turned Demyx's head to the left, frowning at the tear on the boy's ear where an earring once was, the dribble of blood long-since dried. The boy's mullet-mohawk thing was dead and flat against his head, obviously having not been done at all that day.

"Uh…dad found out I went to the library yesterday." He whispered, teal eyes falling to stare at the ground as Sora turned his head to the right.

Sora inhaled sharply at seeing a bruise formed just above Demyx's other ear. "Demyx, you should really call—"

"No!" He cried shrilly. "I can't…if I call the police…they'll…they'll take me away…and I want to _stay_ here! And…and dad will just…he'll tell them about Zexion…and then he'll get in trouble, too…"

Sora pursed his lips, blue eyes narrowed before he pulled the teen into a tight hug. "Dem, I'm sorry. You need a place to stay tonight?"

Demyx nodded mutely, staring at the ground still.

"Why didn't you go in? Roxas should be home. I dunno about, Cloud, though." Sora picked his bag up and reached for the pizza, but it was snatched up.

Demyx stood, holding the box. "I just…wanted more time to think." Then he glanced around. "And Roxas…still…teases me. About Zexion, I mean."

Sora's mouth pursed to the left in a bit of anger, eyes narrowed. "He should just get the fuck over himself. He's probably gay himself."

Finally, the teen laughed, throwing his head back. "Yeah, right! He's been dating that chick, Namine, for what? Four…five years? You don't just _turn_ gay, Sora!"

"Uh, yeah…they broke up yesterday." Sora muttered. "I have no idea if it's a sore subject with the brat, so it's best not to bring it up. We need to clean that ear up." Sora said, eyeing the tear in the dim light.

"Okay." Demyx walked over to the door and opened it, glancing back at Sora. "You coming in?"

"Yeah, just a bit. I…forgot something in my car." Sora lied, scratching the back of his head.

"Ah, forever the forgetful one!" Demyx cried, turning back towards the inside of the apartment.

As the bouncy teen shut the door, Sora smirked at hearing, faintly, Roxas say "Dem, why're _you_ here?"

Sora stepped forward and leaned against the railing with his elbows, hands clasped together. Letting his head fall forward, he closed his eyes, slowly exhaling.

As he began drifting off to sleep standing, the door to his left opened and his head snapped up to look.

There stood a man, wearing nothing but baggy blue jeans, his silver-hair dark with moisture. Green eyes narrowed in annoyance, he stepped out of the doorway, feet bare, holding a bag of trash. "Fuckn' Axel…damn him…comes here and…"

Sora raised an eyebrow, familiarity setting in. He'd swear he'd known this person before. "Hey, neighbor."

The man's green eyes shot up to look at him, and a puzzled look crossing his tired features. In the dim light, Sora could see deep shadows under the man's eyes. "Hi." He replied shortly, going back inside to slip on a pair of black flip-flops.

"My cousin doesn't appreciate your music." Sora said, smiling somewhat brightly.

The man looked at him, one eyebrow high, his free hand scratching his stomach absentmindedly. "Yeah…Axel passed his message along."

Sora nodded, looking back out at the greenbelt, sighing.

"Now I know who you are!"

The brunette man jumped at the other man's sudden outburst and looked over at him with wide blue eyes. "You know…who I am?"

"You're Sora Strife!" The man cried, almost gleefully, snapping his fingers a couple times.

"Are you…on something?" Sora asked, and in this apartment complex, that was a common expectation.

The man shrugged. "Yeah…so?"

Sora "ah-ha"ed and looked away again.

"So…you're not Sora Strife?"

Sora laughed, looking over at the man. "Yeah…I am…I just have no idea who _you_ are."

The man looked genuinely hurt for a second before sighing. "I guess you wouldn't remember me. The name's Riku."

Then something clicked in Sora's head that made the boy gasp, and he straightened up to fully face the other man. "Riku? As in voted 'most likely to succeed in life' Riku? Prom King in high school Riku?" Then Sora made a face. "Why the fuck are you _here_ and on something or another?"

Riku just glared, rolling his eyes. "None of your business." With that, Riku stormed down the steps, leaving Sora standing there, confused at the sudden change in emotion from the other male.

Shaking his head, Sora went inside.

He'd experienced his fair-share of druggies and loonies, there should've been nothing different about Riku.

But this had an extra tug on his heart. Actually, it was more of a fierce, harsh snap and tear, a frigid hand gripping it tightly and he had to stop the tears that bombarded him.

He and Riku, they used to be friends, not close, but they hung out. In elementary, it'd been Riku, Kairi and Sora. Then Riku moved away in seventh grade, and Sora and Kairi became best friends. Riku didn't return until senior year, but by then, Sora and Kairi had all but forgotten the boy's existence, too caught up in Senior-of-high-school stress.

But Riku, he remembered from senior year, was always on track, popular, so extremely likeable and _very_ attractive. The boy had received the highest marks of their class, on his way to college with five options, all out-of-state, and quite a few scholarships lined up.

His life was _set_, not to mention his family was notoriously rich.

Shutting the door, loud, booming laughter hit Sora's ears like a freight train and he had to cover his ears briefly. Demyx always seemed to reach that certain pitch of laughter that made people want to claw through a wall.

But it was still contagious. Sora had to admit, he admired Demyx.

Sora was always happy, yes, but when his life would be spiraling out of control, _everyone_ knew. Demyx, however, grew up in a crappy home, a life spiraling down, and if it weren't for the tell-tale bruises, you'd think he was just a normal teenager.

Sora had known the teen since he moved into the apartments, having had the boy come over as he was moving his stuff in. Demyx chit-chatted with Sora and helped him unpack, giggling and laughing that horrid, high-pitched damn-near scream of his, and the two male's became fast friends.

It wasn't until two weeks later that Sora found out about Demyx's home life.

Sora walked around the corner and into the kitchen, greeted by Demyx with a huge grin. He was perched on the counter, legs crossed, cheese hanging from his broad smile, a pizza slice clutched in his fingers.

Leaning against the sink opposite of the silly teen was Roxas, eye twitching, pizza sauce and a triangle of cheese coating the front of his shirt, bare pizza crust on the floor.

Leaning against the doorframe leading to the dining room stood Cloud, clutching his stomach, laughing silently, gasping for breath.

"What happened here?" Sora asked, walking over to pick the pizza crust off the floor.

"Demyx was an _ass_ and threw a fucking piece of pizza at me!" Roxas shrieked, glaring at the still-grinning teen sitting on the counter.

Demyx just giggled. "But the look on your face was _way_ worth the revenge you will eventually reap."

Sora took a paper towel and wiped sauce off of the floor, and threw the square away, looking over at Cloud. "So when'd _you_ get back?"

"Five-ish?" Cloud responded, finally calming down. He shrugged and walked over to the pizza box, pulling free his own piece of greasy, carbohydrate goodness.

"Why were you at Leon's?" Sora asked somewhat worriedly, grabbing a piece of pizza for himself.

"You were at Leon's?!" Demyx cried, eyes wide. "Lucky bastard!"

"Shut up, Demyx. I'll tell Zexion on you!" Roxas warned, pulling his shirt off and turning towards the sink to attempt to rinse as much of the sauce and stain out it.

Cloud blushed, scratching the back of his head. "We…went out for some coffee and stayed out pretty late. I forgot the key to the apartment and…I stayed over."

Roxas laughed slightly. "And you just went to bed?"

"Yeah?" Cloud replied, eyebrow raised.

Demyx turned towards Cloud, shock written on his face. "He just…let you go to bed?"

"Just…let you go to sleep?" Roxas questioned, looking over at Demyx. "Took you out for coffee and just let you go to bed? Wow. He must actually _like_ you or something."

"What is it that nobody's telling me?" Cloud asked desperately, looking around, confusion written over his face.

Demyx jumped up, stuffing the rest of his pizza into his mouth. Swallowing hard, he smiled sheepishly. "I'm going to set up the couch." Then he darted out of the room.

Roxas took a dramatic bow, slinging his wet t-shirt over his bare shoulder. "I'm tired, dear brother. I'm off to bed now." And with that, the short blonde disappeared from the room.

Sora flinched as Cloud turned an accusing gaze on him. "What is their flip-out about Squall?"

The brunette scratched the back of his head, closing one eye in thought. "He…likes…to keep things casual…to put it lightly."

"So he's a slut?"

"No!" Sora cried, waving his hands around. "He just…when he get's someone in his apartment, they usually have a good time and then…his lover leaves…and they never come back. He just…it's not often…but one-night stands are his…specialty."

"His…specialty?" Cloud asked, a sinking feeling settling in his stomach.

Sora groaned, bringing his hands up to his face. "Why am _I_ explaining this?" He asked rhetorically before bringing his hands back down. "He just…doesn't get attached. That's just not…his way. It doesn't matter _how_ good the sex was, he never calls them back, he never invites them back over, he never mentions them again."

Cloud stared at Sora, breath caught in his throat, his eyelid twitching slightly as he processed the new information, anger filling his chest.

_"Take the bed or we share it. Your call, Strife."  
"I'll take the bed, then."  
"Damn. You're no fun, Strife." _

"So he—"

Sora threw his hands into the air. "You talk to Leon yourself, Cloud! It seems you're friends—"

"I am _not_ friends with him." Cloud hissed, storming out of the kitchen.

Sora flinched as Cloud's bedroom door slammed shut.

"Damn, your cousin has some issues." Demyx muttered, peeking around the doorway.

Sora sighed, shrugging. "I don't…know what's wrong, though."

Demyx shrugged before grinning. "You don't have class tomorrow, do you?"

"No…" Sora said cautiously, eyeing the teen suspiciously. "Why?"

"Watch a movie with me! C'mon, pleeeease?" Demyx begged, bouncing into the room, grabbing Sora's hand and pulling him into the living room.

Sora giggled, shaking his head. "Okay, but just one movie."

Three and a half movies later, Demyx and Sora laid sprawled across the couch, snoring faintly.

**TBC**

_Wow…8 pages…I'm impressed! _

_Okay, so…life is getting happier, so CMSoF update coming up soon! _

_So, I've gotten nothing but happy reviews from my wife and Ania24. I've been thinking about this fic A LOT and I have a clearer idea to where it's going… _

**_DO NOT KILL ME FOR THE AXEL/LARX PAIRING!!!! CONTINUE READING, FOR GOD'S SAKE! _**

_I wrote the last page listening to the Sweeny Todd soundtrack. Amazing movie, simply AMAZING! Tim Burton is **the** God! _

_Johnny Depp wore tight pants the entire time, Anthony was adorable (I'm listening to Johanna right now XD) Lovett was amazingly cool, and Toby was cute! And Borat, thankfully DIED…I'll never be able to watch Harry Potter the same after Snape's role in Sweeny Todd…my GAWD he was a creepy bitch-head… _

_Good movie, go see it! _

**_Thanks go to: _**

_Takika, Loz, my wife, and freakenout _

**_-:love:- thanks for reviewing! _**

**_DISCLAIMER:_**_ Is it necessary?! _

_Read, love, review, repeat! _

_Number, kupo,  
Aggie B. _


	4. Come Here Boy

_Chapter 4 everyone! I'm soo…proud! _

_Oh my god…MAJOR ASS ANGST IN LATER CHAPTERS! _

**Chapter 4  
Come Here Boy**

Cloud was back on the bottom step, glaring. He hadn't intended on going back down the stairs at all, but it seems that the redhead hadn't passed on Cloud's request or the other occupant just didn't care.

Groaning as a certain high screech of a guitar note filled the air, Cloud grabbed the sides of his head and hung it between his knees.

His head hurt too much to even think. And the nightmares were getting worse, too. His time away from his life in Hollow Bastion wasn't helping as much as he had hoped.

"Well, Strife, you aren't looking too well."

Cloud cursed and turned his head to glare at Leon, damning the neighbor for not cutting off his music five minutes earlier. "What do you want, Squall?"

Leon's eyebrow rose and he lifted a pack of cigarettes. "I _did_ want a cigarette, but you've made that whole experience unpleasant for me."

Cloud's glare intensified and he turned back around to look straight ahead, burning holes into the stairway leading to Demyx's apartment.

"Wow. You seem more pissed at me than usual, Strife."

The brunette sounded amused and that didn't sit well in Cloud's stomach at all. Growling, Cloud's blue eyes turned to glare at the other man from the corners of his eyes. "What gave you _that_ idea?"

Leon rounded the railing, crouching down in front of the pissy blonde, a smirk on his lips. "You won't even _look_ at me. That's why, Strife."

"Why do you think _that_ is?" Cloud shot back childishly, trying to back away from the strangely sweet breath of the brunette.

Leon's face lost it's amusement, but he still leaned a bit closer to Cloud. "I don't know. You left in a pissy mood, and I expected a bit of improvement. What'd I do?"

"From what I've heard, the whole town."

Cloud clamped his mouth shut as the words escaped it, eyes widening hugely, his shoulders going rigid. He really hadn't meant to say anything about Leon's…sleeping habits. He hadn't even planned on answering, because the music finally shut off upstairs, marking Cloud's moment of escape.

Now at seeing Leon's face fall, only a small spark of anger flickering in his cold gray-blue eyes, Cloud realized that there was no way of escaping this without an apology.

"Squall, I didn't mean to—"

"Did Roxas say that?" Leon asked, standing up and turning away from Cloud. "I doubt Sora would say anything that horrible about _any_one, even if it were true." Quickly, Leon shot Cloud a look over his shoulder. "Which it _isn't_."

"Roxas…didn't really say anything. I'm sorry, Squall. Seriously, I am—"

"Then I want to know _who_ is saying that about me." Leon hissed turning around to glare. "I may live in some shit-hole, but I still have a reputation to uphold."

"No one said that! Not really!" Cloud cried, hanging his head. "Sora asked why I was at your place…and Demyx and Roxas sort of assumed you and I…you know…and they were just…so shocked we didn't…and they ditched Sora with having to explain things…and I was angry…no one called you a slut but me…"

"Why are _you_ angry, Strife?" Leon asked bitterly, arms crossed over his chest, muscles tight with anger. "You met me two days ago. You have no right to—"

"Because I actually thought that was all you wanted from me!" Cloud interrupted. "I just…thought back to how you invited me in and just…thought that was all you wanted, okay?"

Leon glared up the stairs as the music returned, just louder now. "Strife, you have some serious judging problems—"

"What was I supposed to think?!" Cloud cried, cursing how much he sounded like a woman in that moment. "You proposed sharing a bed, basically kicked me out of your apartment, and later I find out you 'keep it casual'? Enlighten me, Squall, what would _you_ do in my position?"

"Why are you taking this so damn personal, Strife?" Leon asked calmly, a cool glare turning on Cloud, burning into the blonde's soul.

Cloud stood up, towering above the brunette as he stood on the first step. "You didn't answer my question. And I'm done with this conversation. I'm leaving."

As the blonde pivoted on the ball of his foot, a hand gripped his wrist, stopping him from walking back upstairs.

"Strife…I'm sorry." Leon said. Cloud looked over his shoulder to see the man looking right at him. "I prefer to _not_ be called a 'slut' or a 'man-whore' or whatever the hell people call me. I'm not that at all. I just don't _do_ relationships most of the time."

"Have you ever even _had_ one?" Cloud asked with a raised eyebrow, turning back around.

"I'm not about to talk about my past with someone who isn't my friend." Leon retorted, his humor returning.

Shrugging, Cloud moved to turn again, but was still being held back by Leon's hand.

"Look, I've been in a relationship. Ended horribly. Enough said."

"So you just…gave up?" Cloud asked, again cursing how womanly that response must have sounded.

"I never said I gave up, Strife. I just haven't found the right guy."

-oOoOoOo-

Roxas sat on the top step, cigarette, unlit, hanging lazily between his lips, elbows on his knees, hands hanging limply, fingers toying with a lighter, basking in the setting sun.

"You'd better not light that thing, Roxas."

Roxas' eyes came back into focus and he saw Namine standing at the bottom of the stairs, glaring up at him with her hands on her hips. "I'm _serious_, Roxas! You light it, I'll hurt you!"

"Yes mother." Roxas snorted, putting the cigarette back into the pack and stuffing it into his pocket. "What's up?"

Namine climbed the stairs, sitting down next to the blonde male, putting her hand on his knee. "Nothing really. I was passing by and came to see how you were doing. You look like you're getting more sleep, yes?"

Roxas shrugged, looking down at his palms. "I guess so. I haven't met anyone though, sorry."

Namine shrugged and stood back up. "I'm going to cook for you guys. I'm sure you've been feasting on pizza since Cloud arrived, yes?"

Roxas laughed and looked up at her with a smirk. "You know it."

"What will I ever do with you boys?" She muttered aloud, waving her hands around dramatically. "Oh, hello!"

Roxas looked over at who she greeted, confused at how he'd somehow not noticed the shock of red hair poking out of the doorway across from Sora's apartment.

And suddenly, Roxas wanted to crawl far, _far_ away and just _die_. He was okay with being a jerk with someone he'd never see again, but he was a downright _asshole_ to that guy from the library and here the man was. Standing there. Looking just as upset to see Roxas as the blonde was to see him.

Green eyes narrowed, purple tattoos on his cheeks rising slightly before turning a cheerful smile on Namine. "Hello."

His voice didn't contain the angry growl it had had back in the library a few days before, it's tone rather deep and satiny almost, yet just slightly nasal.

He stepped out of the apartment fully, closing the door lightly behind himself, clad in only a pair of boxers and an unbuttoned work shirt, dirtied with soil an grease.

His skin was pale, revealing just how foreign he was to this town, this constantly drowning-in-sunlight town. He had a touch of exoticness to him, something new, just something _different_. And Roxas couldn't help but notice how skinny the man was.

Roxas wouldn't go as far as to say the man was scrawny, just skinny, lanky. He had muscles, that was for sure considering the faint shadings of a six pack, but his waist was quite skinny and his ribs protruded slightly under the thin layer of muscle and skin.

The man's hair was flat—unlike the porcupine spikes he sported a few days prior—and unkempt around his face.

Roxas couldn't help but think—artistically speaking, of course—that this man was beautiful. You couldn't blame him for it, he dated an artist for five years, some of her ability _had_ to rub off on him at least a little bit, even if it _was_ just the eye for beauty.

He grinned, knowing that Namine would eventually crack and beg on her knees for this man to model for her, pose for her, sprawl across a couch in nothing but his underwear—or nothing at all, seeing as she was in college and all—and sit still until whatever picture she was drawing was done.

Roxas only spent a second being jealous before shaking his head lightly.

But then both Roxas and Namine, Namine more than Roxas, blushed when they saw the dark hickey just above the redhead's collarbone.

"Could you please keep it down out here?" He asked politely, half-smiling. "My friend, he's going through a rough time right now and _really_ needs his sleep."

"I'm sorry. I had no idea we were getting loud. Roxas and I were just…you know, goofing off a little." Namine started toying with her hair, trying to ignore the half-naked man in front of her, eyes looking everywhere, _any_where else.

Finally she sighed, rubbing her palms against her eyes in annoyance and Roxas actually laughed. He didn't expect her to crack _that_ fast.

"Um…I know this is going to sound _really_ weird, but…I do a lot of drawing and painting and stuff—" She paused and put one hand on her hip, covering her eyes. "—like, I'm in college for it and stuff—the point is, you are _very_ good looking."

"Excuse me, are you _hitting_ on my fiancé?" The blonde woman from the library asked, stepping out of the apartment suddenly, her hair a mess, her antennas hanging around her face, tangled and limp. She had an amused smirk on her lips, a sarcastic arch to her eyebrows, mischievous electricity flashing in her green eyes.

Her voice was like something sugary, it was _thick_ with sweetness, almost intoxicatingly so. Roxas decided it was honey, dripping with teeth-rotting sweetness, but there was a touch of danger, a touch of threat. She may have been joking about Namine making moves on her fiancé, but Roxas could tell that if Namine so much as hinted at _actually_ liking him, the young, blonde female might never see the light of day again.

"No, miss! Not at all!" Namine jumped back a step, waving her hands in front of her defensively. "See—god this is so _weird_! I usually…only ask this of people I _know_…but…can I draw you?"

"Me?" The man asked, a hand on his him, the other one pointing a long slender finger at himself. "You wanna draw me?"

Namine nodded, blushing. "I…usually get entered into art contests, and the money I win…if it's with your picture, I could give you a cut of it, you know? It's totally your choice, though!" She added quickly, nerves making her shake violently. "I mean, I could continue just…using people I know! Don't feel it's like…your responsibility to help or anything!"

Then something clicked in Roxas' brain and he looked up at Namine with a shocked look on his face. "You never gave _me_ any money!"

Namine looked down at him, nervousness still making her body quake, but she still managed a grin. "I gave you something better, didn't I?" She asked with a wink, startling Roxas with her boldness.

Only when she was _really_ nervous did this weird, confident side of her come out and it always startled Roxas, every time, even after five years of dating her, even longer of knowing her.

Roxas grumbled something incoherently before looking over at the couple as Namine began again.

"Seriously, it's nothing if…you don't want to do it…I mean, it's a pretty uncomfortable experience if you don't know me and all…so, it's totally okay if you say no."

The redhead raised an eyebrow, smirking. "What's your name?"

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I really should've introduced myself before all these awkward questions!" She shot her right hand out, startling the redhead slightly. "I'm Namine!"

_'Wow…she really is nervous…she just **screamed** at him!'_ Roxas thought, laughing at the two wide pairs of green eyes, one pair resembling acid more than the emerald of the other.

"Axel." Then the man composed himself enough to smirk, grasping her hand lightly. "Commit it to memory."

"Uh…okay…" Namine muttered uncomfortably, returning the handshake. "So, what do you say?"

"I'll…think about it." Axel replied, glancing down at Roxas, who was still sitting on the ground, watching the whole conversation. "You're the kid from the library."

"Yes, and I'm not a kid." Roxas replied, rolling his eyes slightly.

"Oh…" The woman started with a smirk. "Is he the jerk you were having a bitch-fest over all the way back to my hotel room?"

Roxas' face slackened, glancing up at Namine, almost reading the blonde girl's angry thoughts. He could even imagine the lecture he'd get once Axel and his fiancé went back inside.

_"I told you to meet people! No wonder you haven't, you've been pissing them off!"_

Roxas knew she wouldn't be angry enough to say "pissing" but still, he knew she was angry just from the way her hands balled into fists.

"Yeah, your name's Roxas, right?" Axel asked, smirking wider at Roxas' obvious discomfort. "This is Larxene, my 'fuck-buddy' as you so eloquently labeled her."

_Now_ Roxas knew that Namine was angry enough to throw _every_ curse at Roxas known to mankind. She didn't approve of such labels _at all_ and absolutely hated it when Roxas used them, especially when he was supposed to be making friends.

"Well, Roxas, I just remembered I have somewhere to be." Namine's tense tone set off every red flag in Roxas' brain. "You'll have to indulge yourself in the nasty, greasiness of pizza one more night. _Call me_ later, or _I_ will call _you_, and you don't want that."

Roxas didn't want that. That would just make the verbal lashing worse.

So he just nodded and watched Namine move towards the stairs.

"So, how'll I get hold of you with my answer?" Axel asked, amusement pouring from his voice.

"Um…just tell Roxas. He'll call me."

With that, Namine descended the stairs, her white dress swishing around her legs gracefully, her arms tense in her silent anger.

Maybe she'd cool off by the time Roxas called, though he _highly_ doubted it.

When she disappeared, Roxas looked up finally to see that he was alone on the stairs.

Standing up, he walked into Sora's empty apartment, distantly wondering where Cloud was.

-oOoOoOo-

Cloud sat on Leon's bed staring down at the beer in his hands as the other man sat behind him. None of them had said anything for the past hour after having had an in-depth conversation about life in general for three of the four hours since going over to Leon's apartment. Not once had they actually talked about themselves.

For some reason, the moved to the bedroom as soon as they arrived. It was more familiar territory to Cloud, no matter how dirty that may have sounded. It just was.

The blonde glanced over his shoulder to see Leon's back facing him, hunched slightly as he thought quietly to himself, brown hair pulled back in a loose ponytail.

"Why _did_ you leave Hollow Bastion, Strife?" Leon finally asked, his voice slightly sad. "I mean, what was _so horrible_ there that you had to leave a plush rich life to spend four hours here in some dead beat moron's apartment talking deep shit about life?"

"What?" Cloud turned around so he could look at Leon better, on leg pulled up onto the bed, the other hanging off still, foot planted firmly against the floor. "What brought _that_ on, Squall?"

"I just want to know." Leon replied, still not looking at Cloud. "Is it…" The brunette paused, obviously waging some inner war, trying to decide what to say and what not to say.

"Spit it out, Squall." Cloud growled impatiently, annoyed already.

"Is it Sephiroth?"

Cloud jumped up off the bed, tripping over some of the sheet piled on the floor and ending up sprawled across the carpet, rug-burn on his palms, beer spilt.

Jumping up as Leon turned around with wide eyes, Cloud backed away, glaring at Leon. "How'd you…what…how'd you _know_ about him? I haven't said _anything_ about him to you!"

"You had a nightmare the other night. You kept saying his name, just not in the way one would if it were a _good_ dream." Leon didn't smirk at his comment though. He was serious now, completely serious and wasn't about to ruin that mood.

"It's _none_ of your business, Squall!" Cloud cried, suddenly feeling vulnerable, suddenly feeling like a victim. He'd avoided thinking about Sephiroth for four hours. Leon had effectively distracted him, why did the bastard have to drag that name back into focus now?

"Strife, why are being so immature about this?"

"I'm _not_ being immature about it!" Cloud growled, blue eyes narrowed into a dangerous glare at the now standing man. "You don't even _know_ what Sephiroth was like!"

"Then tell me."

The blonde snarled and backed against the wall. "I don't…I don't _want_ to tell you!"

"Why not?"

_'Because I don't want you thinking about it either…'_

Leon sighed, bringing his hands up to his eyes, shaking his head. "Strife…I want to help you out, okay? I want…god this is going to sound _so_ fucking cheesy…I want to be your friend."

"But…I don't want to talk about him…I don't even want to think about him." Cloud looked at his feet. "I want him…to just…disappear."

Leon walked around the bed to stand in front of Cloud, arms crossed over his chest. "C'mon, Strife, just…talk it out or something."

Cloud glared up at the brunette, shoving passed the man to sit back down on the bed, his elbows on his knees, his forehead resting on his hands, fingers pushing his hair back out of his face, eyes shut tightly. "Seph…he…he was pretty cool in the beginning. He was just amazing in every way, and do _not_ comment on how girly that just sounded. Spare me your ridicule, just this once."

He missed Leon's snort as he sighed.

"Then we got together and everything was great, awesome, fantastic…" Leon could hear the bitterness seeping into Cloud's voice. "Then…I became property. I tried to end it…several times…but he'd hit me—"

"He hit you."

Cloud's head shot up, eyes wide at the sudden snarl in Leon's voice. It was more the anger in Leon's eyes that startled the blonde more, the air of protectiveness around the brunette almost impenetrable. "Yeah, but only a—"

"There is no 'only' shit!" Leon bellowed, uncrossing his arms. "No one, _no one_, should _ever_ be hit by a lover. _Ever_! It doesn't matter—"

"It's just the way Sephiroth is!" Cloud cried desperately, feeling the need to protect the very man he was trying to escape.

Leon made a disgusted face. "That doesn't give him the right—"

"He wasn't always like that!" The blonde yelled, blue eyes stinging. _'Shit…if you even **dare** cry…'_ "He used to be nice. He used to care. But…just something changed."

"But that doesn't make it right to hurt your lover, Strife! My god, are you that dense?" Leon hissed, stormy eyes narrowed as Cloud's eyes got a glassy look to them.

"I…" Cloud's eyes fell to look at the spilt beer on the carpet, trying to think up the words. "He…he just…he just got angry…that's all…and as long as it was me and not his brothers, it was okay."

Leon shook his head, about to yell again when he saw a tear roll down the blonde's cheek. He hissed quietly, covering his eyes. "Shit, Strife, don't cry. I just…sorry."

Cloud gasped, bringing a hand up to wipe the tears from his eyes, not realizing that they had indeed begun to fall, cursing silently to himself.

"Why did you…stay for so long?" Leon finally asked after a few minutes of silence.

Cloud sighed, looking down at his hands thoughtfully. "I had nowhere else to go, really. Sora and Roxas never really talked to me, so I _was_ a bit surprised when my aunt ordered me to go stay with them. My mum…didn't approve of Seph at all, or any other guy, really. She disowned me the second I told her I was gay at sixteen. My eighteenth birthday was held in my first apartment in Slum Town Central, Hollow Bastion."

Leon stiffened slightly, but waited for Cloud to continue before saying anything.

"Seph met me at the convenience store, like in one of those shitty romance novels? And he took me in…I felt guilty for wanting to run…I mean, he gave me _so _much…and I had nowhere to run…he didn't really let me have any friends that wouldn't turn me back over to him. So when Sora's mom called asking for help…I couldn't pass up the chance." Cloud said with a shrug, looking around.

"Sephiroth just _let_ you go?"

"No." Cloud laughed deep in his chest, but it was a very hollow sound. "My aunt happened to call right after Seph went to work. I threw my shit into a bag, took a shitload of money from Seph's 'secret' stash, and ran."

Both men let the room fall into silence, both deep in thought.

"What are you trying to find here, Strife? What are you going to do here?" Leon finally asked, the question having been plaguing him since the beginning of the conversation.

"I want to live…yeah…just live…" Cloud replied, looking down at his knees.

"Well you're fucking that goal up…"

"What—" Cloud's head flew up, and he was startled into silence at seeing Leon towering right above him.

Leon uncrossed his arms, letting them hang awkwardly at his sides. "You've been wallowing in this…Sephiroth shit since you've gotten here, right?"

Cloud glared in response, and Leon took it as a yes and bent down to eyelevel with the blonde.

"Why don't you just let all of it go and _live_ like you want to?" Leon asked, blue-grey eyes staring into Cloud's, leaning forward just a fraction.

And then Cloud just snapped.

Reaching up and grabbing a fistful of brown hair, Cloud pulled Leon's lips to his violently, scooting back on the bed.

Surprised by the sudden action, Leon couldn't do anything but crawl onto the bed above Cloud, lest the blonde rip all his hair out.

Leon put his hands on Cloud's chest, trying to pulled back from the borderline painful kiss, but having his hair yanked viciously was hindering his escape attempts.

Finally, though, Cloud's lips became less desperate, less forceful, less vicious, the blonde feeling Leon's struggle against him.

Very quickly, the blonde released Leon's hair, looking away, blushing brightly. "I'm sorry Squall. You can…get off so I can leave."

"Is this what you want?" Leon asked quietly, ignoring what Cloud had said, and he was quite sure the inside of his lip was cut from the impact of the kiss.

Cloud looked up at Leon a sad look in his eyes. "Not if I'm going to be kicked out and never seen again."

Leon felt his heart ache a little and he brushed some blonde hair out of Cloud's face. "You…want a relationship?"

Cloud mistook the question, wrenching away from Leon's hands. "No _shit_, Squall! I'm not some _slut_ that'll just sleep with someone, no strings attached! That's your area of expertise, isn't it?"

Leon stared flatly down at Cloud. "You really kill the mood, Cloud, did you realize that?"

Cloud was too startled at hearing his first name said by the brunette above him to even realize that Leon was back to stroking his face.

"What I meant was, I guess, are you sure? With me?" The brunette asked with the closest thing to insecurity he could muster in his voice.

Cloud blinked, blue eyes wide as he slowly nodded.

"This isn't going to be some fling thing because of Sephiroth?"

The blonde quickly shook his head, backing it up with an "of course not" and a smile.

This seemed to have pleased Leon, for he quickly leaned down, catching Cloud's lips in a passionate kiss, grinning into it as Cloud reacted.

But then Leon pulled away, almost laughing at Cloud's whine, his blue eyes shut tight.

"Cloud?"

"Mm?"

"Call me Leon."

"Okay… Leon…"

-oOoOoOo-

Sora growled worriedly, calling Cloud's cell phone again, pacing nervously on the landing outside his apartment door, recording _another_ voicemail.

"Cloud, where are you? It's midnight! I'm seriously worried here, man! You don't know this town that well and I'm worried as _hell_! God, where _are _you?!"

Sora hung up quickly, chewing on his bottom lip nervously, closing his cerulean eyes tiredly. Thank _god_ the next day was Saturday.

"You looking for the blonde? The tall one?"

Sora looked to his left and smiled at Riku, who was standing outside his door. "That would be Cloud. He went missing between seven this morning and now…"

"I saw him with Leon around two this afternoon." Riku offered with a shrug.

Sora noticed Riku was shaking and wrinkled his face with worry. "You okay?" Sora asked quickly, looking up at Riku's face.

Riku shrugged. "My cousin…she…she just sort of barged in with her fiancé and are taking care of my problems. Luckily, Larx is leaving tomorrow. I can handle Axel."

Sora tilted his head, confused. "Problems—oh yeah…" Sora looked back out at the apartments across the greenbelt. "The drugs—wait you said you saw Cloud with _Leon_?!" The brunette shrieked looking wildly back over at Riku.

Riku laughed, grabbing the railing with his shaking hands. "I wondered when you'd react to that."

"This is _not_ good!" Sora cried, burying his hands in his hair, looking around. "I don't know Cloud that well, but I know that one of Leon's quick fucks is _not_ going to do anything but _hurt_ Cloud!"

Riku laughed. "Wow, you've gotten vulgar, Sora." The silveret grinned, green eyes sparkling with _something_ Sora couldn't place. "I'm sure Cloud can handle himself, right? I mean, he's a full-grown man, right? If Leon did anything he didn't like, Cloud would already be up here, right?"

"I guess…I guess you're right." Sora sighed, turning back to the door. "I guess I'll go to bed—"

"Please stay out here and talk to me?" Riku asked, his voice so quiet, shaky, and almost pathetic, Sora _had_ to turn back around with a questioning look. "I _need_ something to distract me. Please."

Sora raised an eyebrow before shrugging and sitting down on the first step, patting the space beside him.

Sitting down gracefully, Riku looked over at Sora. "So…you and Kairi…I know we haven't really hung out since…like…sixth grade, but you two were inseparable. How are you guys?"

"Um…" Sora wrinkled his nose in thought, glaring up at the starry sky. "We started dating out of…basically…we dated cuz it…was expected of us, you know?" Sora looked over at Riku. "We were friends for so long, we just…decided that we might as well get it over with and just…date."

"What about now?" Riku asked, bringing his knees up tightly against his chest, resting his left cheek on them so he was looking at Sora.

Sora laughed, looking over at the other male. "We broke up recently. Our interests weren't the same anymore." The brunette shrugged. "We're friends still, of course, but you know…what about you?"

"Well…I'm still fuck-up Riku." Riku said with a shrug, letting his eyes flutter shut briefly.

"Still? _Still_?!" Sora cried, startling Riku into opening his eyes wide. "I looked _up_ to you Riku! You were my fucking _hero_ all through elementary! Why the hell do you think I followed you just about everywhere?! And senior year, when you came back from wherever the fuck you went, you were received like a _god_!"

Riku snorted, closing his eyes. "I don't like who I am." He stated bluntly, and Sora remembered him to be one for flat-out truths or flat-out lies. There wasn't that much gray area with Riku.

"_I_ like you…" Then Sora turned bright red, stumbling over words to backtrack with as Riku let his head fly back with roaring laughter. "I mean that I liked who you were! I like you when you're…not…stoned? I guess?"

"You saw me _once_ when I was stoned…" Riku pointed out, still grinning madly. "Well…I guess…twice if you count prom…when I was on stage and almost beat up that one dude…"

"Exactly. I don't like it when you're stoned." Sora said with a raised eyebrow, smiling slightly, still blushing.

Then Riku let his legs fall away from his chest, stretching them out straight in front of him as he clapped his hands together loudly. "Here, I'll stay clean for _you_ okay?"

"What?" Sora asked, confused.

"Yeah." Riku nodded, grinning. "Axel's only keeping me clean cuz Larxene will kill him if he doesn't and she only cares because she know my brother will kill her and me if I get busted for drugs. I honestly _love_ being high as a kite, so you're the only one who cares enough about me…not…being stoned and stuff…so, I'll stay clean for you!"

Sora raised an eyebrow, chuckling. "Okay?"

"Seriously! Just you watch!" Riku leaned in dangerously close to Sora's face, still smirking. "As long as you're around and…still…caring? I'll stay sober, clean, drug-free, whatever you wanna call it! I'll remember everything we learned in that bullshit _D.A.R.E._ program in sixth grade and apply it to ever aspect of my life now!"

Sora laughed now, shaking his head. "Obviously it isn't bullshit. I haven't ever even _touched_ drugs." The brunette said, shrugging. "But I'm glad to hear that you'll stay…clean…I guess?"

Both males laughed and fell into silence, Sora humming quietly to himself.

"Hey, Sora?"

"Mm?"

"…never mind."

Sora looked over at Riku then, eyes narrowed. Again, even though Sora hadn't hung out with Riku since sixth grade, he knew the silveret wasn't one to hesitate to say anything that was on his mind, unless it was and awkward question.

Awkward question or no, it piqued Sora's interest. "What?"

"It's nothing, it wouldn't make sense to ask it." Riku tried to weasel out of it, fidgeting slightly in his spot on the step.

"Just say it already!"

"Fine! Do you like men?"

"_What_?!"

"See I told you it wouldn't make sense!" Riku hissed, covering his face with his hands. "I temporarily forgot that you had recently been in a relationship with Kairi and remembered as soon as I got your attention."

"What made you ask?" Sora asked desperately, face turning a rather violent shade of red that clashed horridly with his eyes.

Riku shrugged. "You just struck me as the gay type back in senior year."

"Oh, that's just awesome to know, four years later and all." Sora muttered sarcastically, looking away from the silver-haired man beside him.

"…the look on your face _was_ hilarious though."

"Was _not_!"

**TBC**

_Hmmm…that took me quite a while to write…9 pages…woot! _

_Yay Axel times twenty plus epic! Yesh! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME FOR THE AXEL/LARXENE PAIRING! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD JUST KEEP READING!_

_Anyway! Yay! Chapter 4! _

_It's raining! Yay! In Arizona! Crazy, eh? _

_Anyway… _

**_Thanks go to: _**

_Takika, Loz, my wife, Sansoris, x.jessface, keysintertwineinabondofflame _

**_-:love:- Thanks for reviewing! _**

_Anyway…man…is this going to get angsty! I'm not even kidding! Like…not even a little bit! At all…seriously…it's going to get **bad**… _

_Ania24 already knows…OO _

_Um…**PEOPLE READING CATCHING MY SOUL ON FIRE AND KEY TO MY SOUL** _

_I am REALLY not in a fluffy mood in any way shape or form…at all…and Key to my Soul and the epilogue of CMSoF is nothing BUT fluff…soooo…I'm slowly but surely writing those. _

_All of you that are friends with my on myspace, you probably saw that giant pile of emo I shit out…sooo…yeah…lawls…I am not very fluffy at all right now…so please be patient…_

_**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own KH2 or Come Here Boy by Imogen Heap... _

_Anyway…yeah! _

_Read, love, review, repeat! _

_Number, kupo,  
Aggie B. _


	5. The Scars of Friendship

_Woooo…chapter five… _

_Still not fluffy and still not feeling quite real… _

_So…onwards? _

**Chapter 5  
The Scars of Friendship**

Cloud's eyes flickered open, glancing around tiredly, faintly aware of the body half-sprawled on top of his, only mildly alert to the stormy grey-blue eyes looking up at him through brown bangs, very much aware of the feeling of flesh-on-flesh contact, a tickling stroking up and down his side.

"Mm… Leon…" Cloud squirmed away from the brunette's fingertips, giggling softly. "Mmmthat tickles." He whimpered, covering his mouth with his forearm, closing his eyelids. 

Leon chuckled, shifting slightly and hissing through gritted teeth.

"You okay?" Cloud asked, concerned, blue eyes narrowing in slight guilt. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Shuddup, Cloud…so Sephiroth _never_ let you top?"

Cloud let his eyes flutter closed, shaking his head drowsily. "No…"

"_Damn_ he missed out…" Leon whispered, burying his face into the blonde's chest, sighing contentedly. "I wouldn't mind doing _that_ again…and again…and again…"

"Good to know…" Cloud said with a chuckle, looking over at the clock, groaning. "Oh fuck…I'm really not going to live this down…it's one in the afternoon…"

Leon shrugged lazily, wrapping his arms tighter around the blonde, planting a soft kiss against the other male's bare chest. "So? Do you really care?"

"I guess not." Cloud murmured, bringing one of his hands up to run his fingers lightly through the brunette's hair. "But I should go back soon. Sora and Roxas—"

"They're big boys, they can handle themselves." Leon growled. "Just lay with me. You're too damn comfy."

Cloud laughed and shrugged slightly, closing his eyes. "Whatever…"

-oOoOoOo-

Sora climbed the stairs, arms full of groceries, a pizza poised perfectly on top. Grunting, he tried to shift his hand so he could get the key into the lock.

"Fuck!" Sora bellowed as the metal clanged to the ground, impossible for him to pick up with his arms fully. "Fuck. Fuck fuck _fuck_!"

"Need help?"

Sora sighed in relief at hearing Riku's voice, nodding vigorously while looking over he shoulder. "Please!"

"Only if I get some of that pizza." Riku laughed, smirking, as he picked the keys up off the ground and sticking one into the lock and twisting it.

The brunette laughed and hurried through the open door to the kitchen, dropping the bags onto one of the counters with a sigh. "Ugh, my arms are _dead_. Thanks Riku."

"No problem." Riku grabbed the pizza box, smirking wider at Sora, and swung around to the other counter, opening it to grab one of the triangles.

"Riku! That's for Cloud and Roxas tonight!" Sora cried, grabbing the box and shutting it, slipping it into the mostly empty fridge. "Jeez."

"It's not like _one _piece is going to make a difference, Sora." The silveret said in a mock-wounded tone.

The brunette snorted, looking over his shoulder. "Obviously you haven't seen my brother eat."

"I guess not." Riku shrugged, pushing himself up onto the counter, grinning over at Sora. "So what're you up to this fine afternoon?"

Sora shrugged, leaning back against the counter opposite Riku, crossing his arms. "I have work in an hour."

"We should hang out until then." Riku suggested, still smirking, folding his hands together in front of himself.

Sora chuckled, smiling softly. "What's up with you? I don't understand you."

Riku shrugged, frowning now. "Uh…I need…someone to give me a ride to counseling. You know, for the drugs and all? Axel…Axel's got a job and his schedule doesn't match up with mine."

"Are you asking me to help out?" Sora asked, tilting his head to the left.

"If it isn't to much to ask. Seriously, I'd understand if you said no." Riku looked at Sora again. "I can always walk."

"What time?" The brunette asked, still smiling slightly. "If I'm not busy, I'd be glad to help out. I mean, you're supposedly doing this for me."

"And I am." Riku insisted, smirking now. "Weekdays at three, starting Monday. Right next to the college."

Sora choked on his own tongue. "Next to the college? You were expecting to walk?!" The brunette threw his head back, laughing. "That's a ten minute _drive_ Riku! You'd have to leave here at eleven in the morning!" Sighing, Sora composed himself. "I have a class at three on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, so I can easily just take you over there on my way to school."

"Cool!" Riku said with a broad smirk.

The brunette nodded and looked at the clock, groaning. "Let's move to the living room. I'd rather spend my last half hour of freedom for the night on the couch rather than in the kitchen."

Nodding, Riku hopped off the counter and followed the shorter brunette out to the living room, flopping down onto the sagging couch before Sora. "Talk to me."

Sora sent Riku a confused look, bringing his legs up onto the couch and crossing them. "Don't take this the wrong way, but why are you so needy, Riku?"

Riku shrugged, he too crossing his legs, but he let his head fall back to rest against the back of the couch. "A lot of my friends, if you could call them that, were scared off by Larxene and Axel. Together, they're quite the formidable force. Then there was Marluxia. I never liked him much." Riku turned his head so Sora could see his smile. "I haven't had a conversation with a good kid in a while."

Sora smiled sadly, reaching out to grab Riku's hand comfortingly, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Riku asked, his smile still in place. "For caring? Damn, if that's a crime…"

The brunette laughed, blushing slightly as he realized he was still holding Riku's hand. "Okay, what do you want me to talk about?"

"Anything." The silveret shrugged, aquamarine eyes scanning over Sora's face, taking him in. "You and Kairi. Roxas. Even Cloud. What about that Demyx kid? You seem close with him."

Sora shrugged again. "Not much to say on any of those topics. Kairi and I…just…were together for a long while. Roxas is an idiot. Cloud…I don't know Cloud that well."

"Why not?" Riku asked, scooting closer to Sora.

"He sorta just…disappeared when I was thirteen. Like, we saw him a lot at like, family events, and he always had a friend of his with him, forgot his name. He used to talk a lot back then. Then he turned sixteen, when I was thirteen, and he stopped coming to family stuff with his parents. It wasn't until he turned eighteen and his parents moved back to their hometown did he start showing up again. Then he started fading from existence, only showing up here and there." Sora explained, shrugging. "It seems like…a sore subject, so I choose not to push him."

Riku huffed a breath. "How 'bout Demyx?"

"Demyx…he's cool." Sora smiled sadly. "He's always picked on as being a coward and stuff, but he's incredibly brave. And he's _always_ smiling. I like him, I'm glad this place has broken him."

Riku snorted, looking up at the ceiling. "People aren't objects. They can't be 'broken.' Neither can hearts, or anything else."

"You think hearts can't break?" Sora asked incredulously, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope." Riku replied, looking Sora in the eye. "Maybe it'll hurt a bit, but hearts can't break. You'd die."

"I think you're taking the phrase a bit to literal." The brunette laughed, looking at the clock and sighed. "Fifteen minutes and I have to haul my ass to work." He whined, closing his blue eyes.

"Then call in sick, or something." Riku grinned and wrapped his arms around Sora's shoulders pulling the boy close. "Stay with _me_."

Sora's face turned red, and he could feel the heat crawling up his ears and down his neck. "Riku, we—" Sora cleared his throat and pulled away from the other man. "—we've gone over my…sexuality already."

Riku laughed and just sprawled across Sora's lap, despite the other male's arguments. "Jeez, taking things so seriously!"

Just then, Sora's cell phone started ringing, the small tune coming from the kitchen. Groaning, Sora shoved the silver-haired man off his lap and jogged into the kitchen, grabbing the cellular device.

"Hello?"

_"Hey, Sora."_

"Hey, Roxas! What's up?" Sora was genuinely curious. He leaned back against the counter, running his free hand back through his hair. "You okay?"

_"Yeah, I'm fine…hey…Zexion's worried about Demyx. You think you can check on the kid when you leave for work?" _

Sora wrinkled his brow, glancing up as Riku appeared in the doorway, shrugging at Riku's questioning face. "Um, I guess so. What's got him so worried?"

_"Demyx didn't show up at the library today." _

"Well it's best that way." Sora snapped. "Gives his dad less of a reason to punish the poor kid."

_"And…Zexion had called Dem's apartment." _

Sora's features hardened with anger, and he let a shaky breath out through his flared nostrils. "I thought there were _rules_."

_"Yeah…but whatever. They were broken and Zexion's worried as all hell. Just check on Dem?" _

"Of course. I'll see you later, Rox, I gotta go. Pizza in the fridge. And I got some soda."

_"Okay. Thanks."_ And the line clicked into silence.

Sighing, Sora grabbed his car keys and looked at Riku. "And this is where we part ways. I have to check on Demyx, just to make sure he's okay, and then I have to go to work."

"Let me go with! Please?" Riku asked, looking slightly pitiful, hands clenched together in the act of begging.

Sora put a hand on his hip, an eyebrow raised high. "Why? Don't you have Axel to entertain you?"

Riku shook his head. "He's at his new job and he has to take Larxene and Marluxia to the airport. She goes to school in a small town, where my brother lives."

The brunette shrugged, looking around. "I guess I could put you to work _somewhere_. Like, stocking shelves with me, which is most likely what I'm going to be doing." Sora whined. "Tidus keeps taking days off and it's _pissing_ me off."

"Tidus? The kid I almost beat the snot out of at prom?"

Sora tilted his head back in thought and laughed. "That'd be him. C'mon, let's get going."

Leaving the apartment, Sora chanced a glance across the greenbelt quickly before he turned to lock the door behind himself, but froze, entire body stiffening as he took in the pile of black mass at the bottom of Demyx's stairs.

"Sora what—"

The brunette dropped his keys and took the stairs five at a time, blue eyes wide and trained on the bottom of the stairs across the greenbelt. Dashing through the browning grass, Sora crouched down next to his worse fear.

"Demyx! Demyx wake up!" Sora cried, rolling the teen over to see a black and blue face, blood flowing from his nose in a steady stream. Sora grimaced at seeing an angry, bloody patch of bald skin on the side of the young blonde's head. Through his panic, Sora wasn't sure if he could see the teen breathing. "C'mon Demyx! Open your damn eyes!"

Slowly, one eye cracked open, nearly swollen shut, a sliver of teal surrounded by blood red. "Fuck Sora…" Demyx hissed through chapped lips, blood spattering from his mouth at his quiet profanity.

"God Demyx!" Sora shrieked, refraining from giving the boy a small slap. "I thought you were dead! Fucking open your eyes when I tell you to!" Calming down and wiping the building tears from his eyes, Sora took in a deep breath. "Where does it hurt?"

"Everywhere…" Demyx moaned, closing his barely-open eye. "My…m-my arm hurts like a _bitch_…" He whispered, letting his head fall back, instantly gagging at the blood that flooded his nasal passage.

Sora tenderly felt along both of the boy's arms, relief making its presence known in the back of his mind. "I think you have a sprain. We have to get you to the hospital—"

"No!" Demyx exclaimed, spitting a mouthful of blood out into the brunette's face. He recoiled slightly, hiding his face. "Sorry."

Sora took a slow breath in and looked up at Riku. "We need to get him to my apartment and clean him up. C'mon." As Riku helped the battered teen up, Sora pulled out his cell phone. "I have to call into work, and get hold of Zexion—"

"Don't call Zexy!" Demyx begged, tears finally flowing from his swollen eyes. "If he sees me like this, he'll leave me, Sora! He'll leave!" He hissed loudly, the strain to keep from sobbing stabbing his throat.

Sora shook his head. "He was the one that wanted me to check on you—"

"Don't tell him!" Demyx insisted one last time, though he wasn't trying so hard. He was tired, and dizzy, probably suffering a concussion.

"I'm telling him." Sora looked at Riku. "Get him to the bathroom in my apartment, clean his face and hair up. I want to see if there's anything too horrible for use to deal with."

With a nod, Riku wrapped an arm around Demyx's waist, dragging the teen across the greenbelt and up the stairs, disappearing into the apartment.

Dialing his works number, he quickly excused himself from his shift, repeatedly apologizing before calling Zexion, irritation setting in.

"He doesn't want to see you." Sora said as soon as Zexion answered. Quickly, Sora crossed the greenbelt and sat down on the bottom step.

Zexion sighed on the other end.

"He thinks you're going to leave him." Sora said softly, sadly. His heart ached for Zexion and Demyx, it really did.

Zexion didn't say anything. _"…maybe, that's what's best for him." _

"Don't _say_ that Zexion!" Sora cried, before calming back down. "Just get over here and show him you care. Even though he doesn't want to see you, he still needs you."

_"…how bad is he?"_

Sora sighed and hung his head. "His face is…is pretty beat up. His arm is sprained, I think. I didn't feel a break, at least. I don't know about the rest of him. He might have a concussion. He fell down the stairs, or got pushed, I dunno."

Zexion sighed again, this time shakily. _"…my shift is over in half an hour. Can he wait that long?"_

Sora groaned, rubbing his face. "Yeah. At least we can get him cleaned up a bit, see the _real_ damage done."

_"Yeah. I'll see you then. Bye." _

And Zexion hung up.

Standing up, Sora climbed the stairs quickly, hurrying to the bathroom in his apartment, Riku standing outside the closed door. The sound of water hitting tile and the slight humidity in the air told Sora the teen was showering.

"He isn't…looking too bad." Riku said quietly, concerned. "We cleaned up a lot of blood off his face from his bloody nose and…and it wasn't so bad."

Sora nodded. "Did he let you see the rest of him?"

"No."

The brunette glared at the bathroom door before looking at Riku, sighing heavily. "Then he's hiding the worst of it. I have to call the police on this one. I just…I can't let him live like this!"

"Sora—"

"Fuck, I'm _sick_ of him showing up, wanting to spend the night after his dad _beat_ him! This is no way for a sixteen-year-old kid to live! God fucking _dam_mit!"

With that, Sora stormed into the kitchen to fume silently, tears rolling down his cheeks.

**TBC **

_I decided that's a good a place as any to end this chapter. I don't want it to drone on and on and on. Like it sorta did. _

_Little Cleon fluff…just a little…woo! _

_Um…yeah…so…the Demyx issue…fun… _

**_Thanks go to: _**

_Sansoris, Loz, My Wife, fullmetal naruto girl, Jess, Takika, Wykkyd, keysintertwineinabondofflame, TheNonExistentOne, Olivia, YaoiLover114 _

**_Thanks for reviewing! -:love:- _**

_Yay! More people are reading this! WooHoo! _

_Well…it's bed time times twenty epic…like…I mean…I stayed up till FOUR in the morning last night reading…so I need sleep!! _

_I'm hoping to update again in the near future. I'm getting closer to my favourite parts, meaning the most angsty parts! Bwahahaha! _

_And Larxene…you aren't going to hate her, okies? She's not a bitch like she was in CMSoF. _

_Oh…and Xemnas is actually going to be an okay character…yeah…so…don't have your icky opinions about him from CMSoF, peasle! _

_Anyway… _

_Read, love, review, repeat! _

_Number, kupo,  
Aggie B. _


	6. Hemorrhage

_Woo… _

_Onwards _

**Chapter 6  
Hemorrhage **

Riku yawned, curling up on the couch, Demyx still in the bathroom, the shower still running. Covering his eyes with one hand, he grumbled.

"Hey, Riku, you don't have to stick around." Sora murmured from the other end of the couch, voice fogged with the after-effects of crying.

"Too tired to go back to my apartment." The silveret complained, curling tighter into himself.

Sora shrugged and stood up as he heard the shower shut off. Hurrying over to the bathroom door, he pushed it open. The latch was broken, so the door never could fully close. Sora and Roxas would actually just leave the door open for easier ventilation purposes as well as it just being useless.

Demyx shrieked slightly at Sora's intrusion, having not grabbed a towel yet, his battered body exposed.

"Sora, what the hell?!" Demyx cried, a blush flooding his bruised face as he grabbed the shower curtain and covered himself with it.

"You wouldn't show me the damage otherwise." Sora replied, a blush on his features as well. "But your boxers on and _let me see_. I have to make sure you have nothing too serious."

Demyx sniffed, tears coming to his eyes as he picked his boxers up off the floor and slipped them on, stepping out of the tub.

Sora looked over the boy's torso, grimacing as he took in the yellowing bruises and series of cuts that were already a few days old. Though the damage Demyx was showing him now was bad, Sora knew he was hiding the _real_ things.

"Demyx, turn around." Sora ordered softly, stepping into the bathroom and closing the door lightly behind him in case Riku wandered down the small hallway.

There's…nothing to see." Demyx whispered, tears now falling. "There's nothing."

"Turn. Around." Sora said again, stepping closer to Demyx.

"No." Demyx barely whispered through the lump in his throat, his face contorted into an ugly grimace of emotional anguish. "No."

Sora stepped closer. "Please, Dem. Just turn around. Is it that bad?"

"_It's nothing_!" He screamed, voice strangled, eyes clenching shut, tears falling in steady waterfalls.

"Then why won't you show me?" The brunette asked the teen, voice calm and soft still.

"Fine! I'll _fucking_ show you!" Demyx hissed, turning around quickly.

Sora gasped, hand flying up to his mouth at seeing the long, thin blistering, shiney, angry-red burn across his left shoulder blade, a similar mark on his lower back as well. Dark, brand new bruises littered the space between the two lines, a few old cuts having been reopened in the assault.

"Demyx, what did he _do_?" Sora whispered through his fingers, horror filling him.

"I was…I had just gotten out of the shower…I didn't have a shirt on cuz I was, you know, going to do my hair. My mom, she was doing her hair for work, curling it…" Demyx whispered, bending down to pick up his shirt and put it on, hissing as the fabric rubbed at the burn. "And then Zexion called…dad was so angry…he stormed into the bathroom and grabbed my mom's curling iron…"

"Oh god, Demyx…" Sora moaned, bottom lip trembling.

Demyx shrugged. "He would've hit me more if mom hadn't reminded him the stupid iron was pretty expensive and if he kept hitting me with it…it'd break." Demyx sobbed once. "He let me put a shirt on and stuff…then just let me have it…"

"I'm sorry, Dem—"

"It's not your fault." Demyx whispered, head hanging. "And I've had worse."

Sora wiped his tears away and walked forward, wrapping his arms around Demyx from behind, careful of the boy's back. "Did…did you fall or did he push you?"

"Both? He shoved me out the door and I tripped over my feet…" Demyx replied in a whisper, shoving Sora's arms away. "I…I'm tired."

Demyx walked around Sora to the door, pulling it open and gasping as he saw Zexion standing there, tears in the shorter male's eyes. Roughly, the slate-haired man grabbed Demyx's arm and turned him so he could lift the teen's shirt enough to see the damage.

The shorter male hissed as he took in the burns, the bruises, the opened cuts.

Demyx sobbed, head still low, tears splattering onto the countertop. "Zexion…" He moaned as the shorter man took in a hissing breath.

Zexion let the blonde teen go, backing away slightly, wiping his eyes clear of moisture. "I'm ending this, Demyx."

Demyx turned wild eyes on Zexion, gasping. "No!" He wailed, grabbing the front of Zexion's shirt desperately. "Don't _leave_ me!"

"Demyx, look what's happening to you! Your back it's…" Zexion's voice was beginning to crack, and he shook his head. "I'm no good for you. You're getting hurt."

Sora began to feel claustrophobic, stuck in the bathroom, the only exit being blocked by the warring lovers, the emotions filling the room, and the brunette began to cry. He was stifled by the pain, the anguish, the guilt. He couldn't scoot around Demyx, the lithe teen somehow taking up the whole doorway.

"Don't be so selfish, Zexion! He's not beating me because of you! He beat me before I even _met_ you, Zexion!" Demyx bellowed, hands shaking violently. "He'd hit me regardless if you were in the picture or not!"

"But he never hit you with a fucking curling iron before me! He never…never did…stuff nearly as bad as he does now!" Zexion struggled for his words, closing his eyes.

Demyx suddenly shoved Zexion away, the shorter man hitting the wall across the hallway. "You know what, Zexion? You think _leaving_ me alone will fix _anything_?" The teens voice took on a whole new tone, something the teen should never use. "He'd still hit me cuz I'm gay. He'd _still **hit**_ me, and it was only a matter of time that he started using things _other_ than his fists! But you know what else?"

Zexion recovered from the shock of being pushed back so roughly. "What?"

"I was about to fucking _kill _myself, Zexion! But then…then you came back from college. And then we got together and everything…and I had somewhere to _go_ when I finally turn eighteen." Demyx sobbed, curling his fingers into a fist, digging the heel of his palms into his eyes. "I knew, once I could get out of that hellhole, I had someone who'd _love_ me. Someone who would _hurt_ me. I knew I had _something_ to live for."

"Stop talking like this." Zexion begged, shaking his head, purple hair swaying, strands sticking to the now flowing tears.

"It's _true_, Zexion!" Demyx cried, shoulders hunched. "You leave me…and I'll've lost what little hope I had! I'm not…I'm not trying to guilt trip you. I'm…I'm telling you the honest truth." The teen took in a shaky breath. "Everything dad does to me…I couldn't handle it back then when it wasn't so bad, I sure as hell couldn't handle it now. I just…Zexion _please_…I need you."

Demyx walked out into the hall and wrapped his arms around the other male, burying his face into the man's hair, sobbing. "_Please_, Zexion…I need you…don't leave me, _please_. You…you're my world…please…if you…if you leave…" The teen couldn't talk anymore as he broke into sobs, tears soaking his boyfriend's hair.

Cautiously, but no less desperately, Zexion wrapped his arms around Demyx, turning his face into the teen's neck, sobbing as well. "Oh god, Dem, I'm sorry." He whispered, shaking against the younger male.

Backing away slightly, Demyx planted a soft, quick kiss to his boyfriend's lips, smiling softly through his tears. "You won't…you won't leave?"

Zexion shook his head desperately, eyes wide, cheeks streaked. "No, I won't. I promise."

Suddenly, as though nothing had ever happened, Demyx beamed, eyes brightening. "Thank you." He whispered, pulling Zexion into a slightly deeper kiss.

Sora scuttled out of the bathroom, seeing Riku standing at the end of the hall, eyes sorrowful, face appearing much older. Roxas was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, head hanging, thoughts deep and impenetrable. Cloud was standing in the living room, back facing the group, arms hanging at his sides, muscles bunched with an emotion akin to anger.

The brunette turned back to the two lovers, and cleared his throat. "Guys, we have to…work things out about the police—"

"Don't. Call. The police." Demyx hissed, his voice muffled by Zexion's hair, his nose having been buried into the purple locks again. "I'm serious."

"Then what do we _do_ Demyx?" Sora asked, trying to keep his voice calm. "Do you just go back in the morning like every other time—"

"He is _not_ going back." Zexion snapped, lifting his head from Demyx's shoulder, glaring slightly at Sora.

"Then where does he _go_?! He can't go to your place, his dad will immediately suspect it!" Sora cried, covering his face with his hands. Taking a deep breath and dropped his hands to his sides, he composed himself. "I guess you could stay here. I could take the couch and you—"

"Where is the logic in that, Sora?" Roxas asked, finally looking up. Sora was mildly surprised to see moisture on his brother's face.

"His dad _never_ leaves the apartment, and his mom's too drunk to recognize _herself_ half the time." The brunette explained to everyone, looking around for support to his proposal. "He'll take my room—"

"I'm not going to displace you in your own home, Sora!" Demyx cried, pulling away from Zexion. He glanced at Cloud who left the apartment quickly, then turned his attention to Roxas desperately. "Can't I go to Namine's? She has that empty room, doesn't she?"

Roxas thought about it and shrugged. "Last I checked, yeah. She was going to rent it out, though."

"Kairi moved in with her." Sora suddenly said, looking at Roxas. "She'd been looking for a place to stay cuz living in the dorms was getting too expensive on top of tuition and the food plan."

Demyx looked at Riku and the older male shook his head. "That room is for Larxene. I won't let her and Axel share a room."

"I'll stay with Leon downstairs." 

Everyone turned to stare at Cloud in shock, who was standing by the door, which was still slightly ajar. He just looked around, completely serious. "He said okay. I'll stay with him, Demyx can have my room."

Sora's eyes narrowed briefly before looking at Demyx, then at Zexion. "He still have his stuff at your place? Roxas and I'll go get it."

Zexion nodded and dug into his pocket for his keys, tossing them the short distance to the slightly younger male. "Yeah, it's all in my closet."

Sora nodded, looking at Cloud. "You should get your stuff and get downstairs so Demyx can get some sleep."

Cloud shrugged, stepping out the door slightly. "I'll get my things tomorrow. Just go to bed, Demyx."

With that, he disappeared before Demyx could say anything resembling a 'thank you.'

"Won't your dad go looking for you?" Roxas asked, raising an eyebrow.

Demyx shrugged, looking at his feet and hissing at the pain flaring across his left shoulder blade. "I dunno, maybe? Who cares?"

Sora nodded, and motioned to the bedroom. "Go to bed, Demyx, seriously."

The teen grabbed Zexion's hand with a pleading look and the older male nodded, following Demyx into the room and shutting the door.

Looking at Riku sadly, Sora shrugged. "You might as well go home. Sorry we couldn't hang out much today."

Shrugging and digging his hands into his pockets, Riku smirked. "Some other time, then. I'll see you both later." He waved and left the apartment.

The two brothers watched each other before they both left, locking the door, heading to Sora's car.

-oOoOoOo-

It was five hours later that they had finally made it back to Sora's apartment. Zexion lived all the way downtown, a good hour commute, and Demyx's many boxes were a bitch to fit into Sora's small green '94 Honda Civic.

"Why does he have all this shit at Zexion's place?" Roxas grumbled tiredly, holding a box on his lap as his older brother drove.

Sora sighed. "So he could just walk out when he turned eighteen. He was just being prepared. These are all his books, his journals, a lot of his clothes, and that big box has his guitar and sitar in it. He was afraid his dad would destroy them."

"How the hell did he _afford_ them?" Roxas cried, looking at his brother skeptically.

Sora bit the inside of his cheek thoughtfully. "He said he saved up forever for the guitar. The sitar, though, I have no idea."

The blonde nodded and looked out the window as Sora pulled into his parking space, turning the car off. "C'mon, let's get this stuff up stairs and go to bed. I am _beat_."

Agreeing desperately, Roxas flung his door open and cautiously climbed out of the car.

"Here, carry two boxes, I'll carry one and unlock the door." Sora proposed, hefting a box against his hip and locking the car while they dropped their current loads off in the apartment.

"Whatever."

The two brothers hurried up the stairs and Sora quickly unlocked the door. Entering quietly, they shuffled down the hall to Demyx's room, opening the door silently as to not awaken the teen.

Zexion turned his head in their direction, his hand ceasing its stroking of Demyx's blonde hair, a deep shadow evident under his exposed eye, his face thoughtful. He sat up against the wall, the teen lying on his stomach, topless, with two washcloths on his back, his head in Zexion's lap.

"Is he asleep?" Sora whispered, pointing at Demyx.

Zexion nodded and tried to shuffle out from under Demyx.

"No, stay." Sora waved at him, smiling. "We've got it covered. We'll just leave the rest out in the hall."

Zexion nodded, smiling slightly as the two siblings left the room.

-oOoOoOo-

Roxas yawned, letting his head fall backwards, closing his eyes. _'Tomorrow…I have a day off…thank…god…'_

"Hey, kid."

Roxas' head flew up, blue eyes glaring at the redhead standing at the counter. "Yes?"

Axel pursed his lips at the glare he received before heaving a sigh. "Was Riku really hanging out with your brother yesterday?"

Roxas raised an eyebrow, running a hand back through his hair, shrugging. "If you can call yesterday's events 'hanging out.' He was at the apartment when I got home. Why?"

The redhead shrugged one shoulder, turning his green eyes away from Roxas. "I'm just wondering. Riku isn't the truth-telling kind of guy."

Roxas narrowed his eyes. "Why didn't you just ask Sora? He's home."

Axel nodded at the clock, reminding Roxas that he had little over five hours left of boredom. "It's my lunch break. I wanted a cappuccino, and I saw you were working." The redhead pulled out his wallet as Roxas rang up his order.

"Look, I'm sorry for the whole thing with your fiancée." Roxas murmured, humiliated, as he grabbed a cup and began filling it with the coffee and different assortments of creams.

Axel shrugged, hands deep into the pockets of a pair of extremely dirty jeans. "Whatever."

Handing the redhead the coffee, Roxas sat back down on his stool, watching Axel leave, somewhat disappointed their conversation hadn't amounted to anything.

Closing his eyes again, he sighed, just wanting to go home and sleep.

"_ROXAS!_" A female voice screeched, rousing Roxas from his light doze abruptly, only for his vision to be filled with blinding white teeth, green eyes, and brown hair as a feminine body launched itself over the counter. "Oh my god! It's been too long!"

"Olette!" He gasped, struggling to get his footing, his stool having tumbled over in the sudden glomp-attack from the female.

Suddenly the mood shifted and she wrenched away from him, slapping him, leaving Roxas stunned. "What is this I hear about smoking? And _drinking_? Honestly, Roxas! I thought you knew better—you're looking pretty good though!"

"Down, Olette." Roxas' best friend, second only to Namine, Hayner joked from the entrance of the gift shop as he entered, smirking, Pence bringing up the rear, the same smile gracing his matured features.

All three of them stood in front of the counter, all smiling at him. Roxas was shocked by their appearances, all having matured quite a bit in the year since he last saw them.

Olette had a much more womanly face, her face losing it's roundness, narrowing more, her cheekbones more prominent, her lips slightly fuller. Her green eyes, once wide and childish, were narrower, but still had that bright, candy-apple hue to them, that same happy gleam burning from their depths. Roxas didn't even want to start thinking about how much her _body_ had changed, that would be like ogling his sister.

Pence had grown into his plumpness, his face losing much of it's plumpness, and he had more the body of a football player than the chubby gamer he used to appear to be—and he really _was_ a gamer.

Hayner had _somehow_ fit another growth-spurt in the past year, remaining the tallest in the group, even with Pence having grown just about a foot himself. Hayner's previously sharp features were even sharper, but more broad, mature, manlier. His brown eyes had lost some of their childish charm, making him seem more of a man.

"Have you gone mute?" Hayner asked, raising a blonde eyebrow, smirking. He put his hands on his hips, and Roxas just realized that he was wearing dress pants, a nice shirt, and a pair of nice shoes.

"Holy shit, Hayner, what the fuck are you _wearing_?" Roxas cried, covering his eyes. "I didn't think this was _possible_! Hayner wearing _nice_ clothing?"

"Hey, fuck you." Hayner growled, flipping Roxas a very aggressive hand gesture. "I had work right before our flight."

"He's a secretary." Olette whispered, giggling.

"So how _are_ you doing, Rox?" Pence asked, leaning against the counter, smiling brightly.

Roxas uncovered his eyes and shrugged, looking down at the counter. "Okay. Better, I guess. I think I still hold asshole status in Sora's eyes. But whatever."

Olette crossed her arms, pursing her lips, and glaring, a pose that Roxas didn't even realize he missed so much, the look of a mother catching a child in a small white lie. "Seriously, Roxas. How _are you_."

Roxas shrugged again. "I've been better, yes, but I'm _okay_ right now."

"How're you and Namine doing?" Pence asked, still smiling. Roxas was glad to see that the brunette had managed to keep his cheery, upbeat attitude since high school ended for them.

"Uh, yeah…umm—"

"Did you ask her to marry you yet?" Olette cried excitedly, clapping her hands together, jumping up and down.

"Olette—"

"Oh my _god_, if you haven't, what are you _waiting_ for! You two won't live forever, you know!" She scolded, switching moods completely. "You've been _in love_ with her since—"

"We broke up, Olette."

The girl went silent, green eyes widening slightly before she deflated, frowning. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Again, Roxas shrugged. "It's okay. This past year, we really stopped being more than just friends. Seriously, I'm fine."

Hayner shrugged, looking at the other two. "Well, we have to check into our hotel and whatever, so we'll be seeing you around. You still live with Sora?"

Roxas nodded. "Yeah. Same old shithole, except homier with all the strays that keep stumbling in."

"Mm, deadbeats. Fun." Hayner sighed, looking tired, very suddenly gaining a few more years. "You busy tomorrow? We'll stop by."

"Tomorrows my day off, so go ahead and drop in." Roxas said softly, startled by Hayner's change in mood.

"Good. C'mon guys." With that, Hayner walked out, leaving Olette and Pence behind.

Roxas looked at them hesitantly. "What's…up with him?"

Olette pursed her lips to the right, her eyebrows drawing together in slight worry. "Hayner's been really weird lately. Maybe he'll talk to _you_ or something. He's been going through mood swings like crazy."

"Man PMS." Pence clarified, giving a finalizing nod. "Let's go before he flips a bitch on us. The last thing I want right now is a travel-stinky, bitchy Hayner whining at me _all_ the way back to the hotel."

"Good point." Olette said, waving to Roxas briefly. "See you tomorrow, Roxas!"

"Yeah, bye." He said softly, watching them turn to leave, Pence putting his arm around Olette's thin shoulders, making Roxas raise and eyebrow in amusement.

-oOoOoOo-

Sora trudged up the stairs, Chinese take-out in a plastic bag held in his left hand, keys in his right. Reaching the top, he was almost disappointed to see that a certain silveret wasn't waiting.

Deciding he wasn't in the mood to entertain the, so far, ex-druggie, Sora felt relieved a short second later slipping his key into the lock and twisting it.

Once inside, he heard the soft strumming of a guitar and light-hearted humming, bringing a smile to the brunette's face.

Strolling into the kitchen, he gave Demyx, who was perched on his usual spot on the counter, a three-fingered wave with his right hand and set the food out on the counter. "How was your day?"

Demyx shrugged, a small upward curve on his lips. "It was…nice waking up to Zexion. The first time, you know?"

Sora raised an eyebrow as he opened a box of orange chicken, spearing a piece of glazed, processed chicken with his fork, shoving it into his mouth. "I don't mean to pry," he said around the food, looking over at the teen with questioning blue eyes. "But you mean to tell me—" he swallowed "—that you and Zexion never…you know…?"

Demyx shook his head. "For a drunk dumbass, my dad's observant. He'd know. And…we never had an opportunity."

"You didn't…do anything last night, did you?" Sora stated firmly before shoveling more cheap Chinese cuisine into his face.

Again, the teen shook his head. "We're not idiots. Zexion's still messed up about it…all of it…and my burns…and all."

"Good." Sora said as they both heard the front door open.

"I'm home!" Roxas' voice rang out. "I smell Chinese, dammit Sora you'd better not be eating all the orange chicken!"

Sora's wide blue eyes fell on the half empty box and he gulped, shoving the lime green box into Demyx's hands. "Demyx did it!"

Roxas rounded the corner, eyes narrowed. "You are a bitch, Sora, you know that?"

"Uh…huh?" Sora replied, glancing at Demyx before taking the chicken back. "How was your day?"

Roxas brushed sweat-dampened hair out of his eyes, shrugging. "The gang's visiting."

"As in Hayner and them?" Sora said, his words slightly muffled by food.

"Yeah. They're stopping by tomorrow." Roxas replied, opening another lime green box, this time shoveling fried rice onto a paper plate. "I need to call Namine."

"Call her now before you forget." Sora said half-heartedly as he stared sadly at the empty take-out container.

"Who are you? Mom?" The younger asked, getting some mandarin chicken.

Sora grinned, regardless of the chunk of chicken he could feel stuck between his two front teeth. "Damn straight."

"You two are actually getting along again." Demyx finally said, raising an eyebrow.

Sora shrugged. "Lack of alcohol and cigarette fumes tend to do some good on the resurfacing of the _real_ person."

"Shut the hell up, Sora. Where'd you get that line from?"

"Um, Riku stopped by earlier." Demyx said suddenly, eyes widening at remembering it. "And Namine called. Something about…Axel?"

Roxas rolled his eyes. "She's impatient. I'll call her, see what she wants."

With that, Roxas left the room, taking his plate with him.

"What'd Riku want?" Sora asked tiredly, staring at the empty mandarin chicken box. "Bastard took all the chicken…" He muttered before looking at Demyx.

"To see if I was okay. And he wanted to hang out with you. Told me to tell you?" Demyx sighed, eyes slightly sad. "He looked all…messed up. Like…he's been up for hours, but just…hasn't gotten decent? You know?"

Sora pursed his lips to the left, eyebrows coming together, eyes narrowed. "Did it look like he was…stoned or something?"

"No." Demyx laughed, beginning to strum. "He looked like he could use a joint or two. Maybe even a line, or something."

Sora sighed, relieved, and shrugged. "Well, I should just leave him alone. Is Zexion coming back tonight?"

Demyx shook his head sadly, his small tune on the guitar turning melancholy. "He says he can only stay over on weekends starting _next_ week."

"I'm sorry." Sora offered with a shrug, smiling comfortingly at the teen. "Hey, I don't have class tomorrow and work isn't until five. Movie marathon tonight?"

Demyx fake-pouted. "We've watched every movie in your collection already."

"Suck it up, princess!" Sora laughed, throwing the empty boxes out and going out the living room. "Eat something and join me!"

It wasn't even midnight when Sora was laying across the area rug in front of the TV, passed out with a bowl of popcorn tipped over next to his head, and Demyx sprawled on top of him, snoring softly into the rough rug.

On a Operation: Snack Food mission, Roxas couldn't help but bust out laughing, startling both males into a semi-awake state.

So far, so good. It was all anyone could hope for was for things to stay as simple for now.

**TBC **

_So…I absolutely did not enjoy writing this chapter…well I loved writing it…but it was more…like…DemDem…I lurves him (well…his character…not him cuz…seriously…I nearly killed myself fighting him in KH2 cuz he was so annoying…the ONLY Orgy 13 member that said "OW!" lawls) _

_Wow…ramble much? _

_Um…yeah! _

**_Thanks go to: _**

_Ania24 (and yes, you have to review! JAY KAY!), x.jessface, FallenPooka, TheNonExistentOne, Leah (yeah, a lot of people haven't been reading it…cuz I fail at summaries), JeanneAndHerAlters, UmSophie, keysintertwineinabondofflame, Loz, Takika, My Wife, fullmetal naruto girl, Becca-Blossom, Padfoot _

**_Thanks for reviewing -:love:- _**

_I have nothing to really say today…soo… _

_Read, love, review, repeat! _

_Number, kupo,  
Aggie B. _


	7. Doubt & Trust

_Wooo…new chapter…siiiigh… _

_Onwards… _

**Chapter 7  
Doubt & Trust **

Roxas held his coffee securely between his palms, watching the steam rise from the wide mouth of the mug, listening to Namine and Olette squeal and shriek with delight, catching up with the intricacies of life apart from each other.

Hayner was lounging across the chair, cradling an open soda in his lap, eyes moving around, taking in the apartment that hadn't changed at all in the past year. His foot twitched slightly and he sat up straight before standing up.

He turned and smiled at Roxas and sighed. "It's good to be back home."

"Not liking it in the big world?" Roxas teased, raising a fine eyebrow.

Hayner shook his head briskly, scrunching his face up slightly. "I didn't say that, bonehead. I've just been pretty…nostalgic."

"Wow, did you learn that big word in college?" Roxas teased, smirking.

"Shut the fuck up." Hayner growled, jumping as a sudden banging on the door startled him.

Olette skipped into the room. "That's probably Pence! He said he'd be showing up later. He was visiting his mom or something."

She flung the door open and gasped, backing up slightly.

Roxas looked around Olette to see Riku, hair disheveled, dark bags under his eyes, skin paler than usual, and clothes that looked about a day old. "Um, is Sora in?" He asked the woman in front of him, trying to smooth down his hair a bit more, surprisingly succeeding.

"Um…I think he's still in bed." Olette replied, tilting her head at the sight of the taller male.

Riku nodded once, smirking, but eyes sad. "You his girlfriend?"

Olette blushed furiously and shook her head, waving her hands around. "He's like my _brother_!" She squealed, slapping her hands against her hot face. "Ew! No!"

Riku laughed and took a step back. He looked over Olette's shoulder and saw Roxas and waved. "When he wakes up, tell him I stopped by? It'd…be cool if we hung out today."

The silveret sauntered over to his apartment and slipped inside before Olette could respond.

Shutting the door and turning around, Olette gave Roxas a strange look. "And what was that about?"

Roxas shrugged, looking over at Hayner and Namine. "He's just been hanging out with my brother a hell of a lot. Don't ask me why, it's a mystery for even me."

Hayner heaved a huge sigh of blatant boredom and glared at everyone in the room. "Olette, as soon as Pence get's his fat ass over here, we are all going _out_. As cool as this apartment is, Roxas," Hayner said, sarcasm dripping from every word. "It's boring as hell."

"Whatever, Hayner." Roxas said, chuckling.

Him and his friend's were reunited, acting as friends should, and Roxas almost felt as though they were back to last summer, hanging out, spending those last two months together before Hayner, Pence, and Olette disappeared off to college.

Roxas could almost feel his old self resurfacing.

-oOoOoOo-

Cloud groaned as he rolled over, muscles tight, head aching, and body jittery with the remnants of another nightmare. Hazy blue eyes slowly drifted open, crusties from salt caked at the seams of his eyelids, causing him to hiss and rub furiously at his eyes. "_Damn_…" He groaned, feeling the bed next to him cold and empty.

Sitting up, he looked around, eyes watering as light suddenly bombarded them. He could hear the clicking of a keyboard out in the living room and he could smell coffee and breakfast foods his stomach begged for.

Rolling out of the bed, he picked a pair of boxers up (probably Leon's by the looseness around his waist) and slipped them on before shuffling out into the hall, pausing to watch Leon. 

He sat on the couch, clad in only a sheet around his waist, hunched over and typing on a relatively new laptop propped on top of his knees. He was nibbling on his lower lip, slowly but surely reopening a wound from the night before. His hair was unkempt, a mess in the characteristic bed-head style.

Leon stopped typing to lift his right hand up to his mouth and nibble on his thumbnail. Pulling his hand back to observe it, he frowned at the tiny drop of blood it had picked up from his lips.

The brunette suddenly looked up and saw Cloud, eyebrows creasing in confusion for a second before his eyes widened in somewhat of a guilty look. "Uh…morning, Cloud."

"Good morning." Cloud replied, raising an eyebrow, confused with Leon's look. "What?"

Leon pursed his lips together. "Nothing. There's still some eggs in the frying pan. I didn't want to wake you up. You seemed tired."

Cloud smiled slightly, nodding his thanks and walked into the kitchen, scooping some lukewarm scrambled eggs onto a paper plate and poured himself a cup of coffee, putting one teaspoon of sugar in it, and walked out to the living room to sit in the lazy boy across from Leon.

As he got comfortable, Leon looked up at him, eyes holding some kind of emotion Cloud couldn't really place. "You had another nightmare." He stated matter-of-factly, bluntly, apathetically.

Cloud just stared at Leon for a long moment before shoving a mouthful of eggs into his mouth, chewing silently. "I typically do. Your point being…?"

"I could hear you from out here." Leon replied, folding his hands on top of the sheet pooled in his lap. "What're they about?"

Cloud just shrugged, spearing more eggs with his fork.

Leon exhaled slowly before turning back to his laptop, shaking his head. "Fuck, Strife, you're no help at all."

Cloud's eyes shot up to glare at Leon, but he was mostly hurt at being referred to as 'Strife' by his…lover? They weren't exactly _boyfriends_. So far, just exclusive lovers. Cloud suddenly felt nauseated. "What the fuck is _that_ supposed to mean, _Squall_?"

Leon's head turned so fast, Cloud flinched as he heard the brunette's neck pop. Leon looked angry, and again Cloud saw that unnamable emotion in the man's stormy eyes.

"I _meant_, Cloud, that I'm _trying_ to help." The brunette slapped his laptop shut and stood up, a tight fist holding the sheet closed around his waist. "I'm taking a shower."

(A/N: Oh my god, I was writing this part to the song Emu For My Dears by Gackt…and seriously…almost…started crying. I actually bawled when I first heard this song, cuz I first heard it watching the first live performance of it…it hurts my heart to listen to it…anyone else agree? Oh…and Gackt's voice is smex times twenty epic on five and a half muffins with a side of pwns hardcore smex, kupo with five bunnies and three platypuses and six Yaoi cookies!)

Cloud watched Leon shuffle down the hall to the bathroom and listened to the shower turn on. Leon never closed the bathroom door because the fan didn't work in there.

Sitting alone in the living room left the blonde feeling cold, lonely, and even more nauseated. He was reminded of life back at home, with Sephiroth. The hours he would spend, just sitting in their shared bedroom, or in the kitchen with nobody to keep him company. Sometimes Kadaj would crawl out of his hole and talk to Cloud, but only on rare occasions.

_'Kadaj!'_ Cloud realized in horror, blue eyes wide. He wasn't there to take the brunt of Sephiroth's anger. He wasn't there to save the brothers from Sephiroth. Would he hit them?

_'Yes…yes he would…'_

Throwing his plate down on the coffee table, fork clattering across the wooden surface, Cloud ran to the bathroom, hitting the bathroom floor in front of toilet in record time as a rush of saliva filled his mouth, his stomach twisting.

Coughing, Cloud dry-heaved, but nothing came of it, not even the partially digested eggs and black coffee.

"Cloud?"

Leon's voice was right next to his ear, a cool, wet hand against the blonde's feverish forehead, the other hand brushing blonde bangs back.

"You okay? Do I need to call a doctor?"

Cloud shut his eyes, shaking his head slightly, his tongue suddenly feeling too thick for his mouth, his throat feeling tight, his stomach doing violent little flips.

The hand on his forehead swept down to his cheek, a soft thumb rubbing up and down, strumming his smooth skin lightly. "What do you need, then?"

Cloud leaned into the light touch. "Just…let me…" The blonde choked slightly. "Just let me sit it out…"

"Okay." And Cloud could feel the other man prepare to stand up, probably to get back into the shower that was still running. Cloud grabbed the hand that was against his face. "Stay."

"Why?"

Cloud flinched at Leon's tone. It sounded bitter, still angry, but tinged with something else. "It feels…the coolness…it feels nice." The blonde replied, loosening his grip on Leon's hand, giving the man the chance to back away.

He could hear Leon sigh, and the shower shut off. Leon got comfortable on the floor behind the blonde, his hands returning to the man's face and neck, stroking lightly, massaging the many tight knots between Cloud's shoulder blades.

" Leon…I-I'm sorry." Cloud said to the toilet bowl, shivering lightly as he felt the brunette's lips brush lightly against his left shoulder blade.

"I'm sorry, too." The brunette replied, returning his hand to Cloud's forehead to check the man's temperature. "Your fever's gone down. Do you still feel sick?"

"A little." Cloud whispered, shuddering as Leon's other hand kneaded down the length of Cloud's spine, leaving a cool, wet line, before moving back up.

"What brought this on? You looked fine when you woke up." Leon's statement was at Cloud's neck as the brunette leaned forward against Cloud, head resting on the blonde's pale shoulder. Drips of water ran down Cloud's back from Leon's soaked hair, raising goosebumps on the blonde's pale flesh.

"Just thinking about things." Cloud replied, tilting his head slightly.

"Stop." Leon ordered suddenly, sternly, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"Stop what?" Cloud asked, confused and slightly offended by Leon's assumed superiority.

"Stop thinking." The brunette replied, and Cloud would've laughed if there had been any humor in the other man's voice. "Stop thinking about him. Stop thinking about Hollow Bastion."

"Why _should_ I?" Cloud asked, genuinely curious as to what Leon could possibly come up with that would justify Cloud _not_ thinking about the only man to ever love him, the man that took him in when he had nowhere else to turn.

"For one, how the fuck are you to help your cousins out?" Then Leon sighed, shaking his head against Cloud's shoulder, a wet clump of hair coming loose from the entire slicked back mould of hair, sticking uncomfortably to Cloud's flesh. "Just stop thinking about him."

"Wow, your powers of persuasion are astonishing." Cloud muttered sarcastically.

Leon chuckled, his damp chest rumbling against Cloud's back. "Oh, you'd be surprised."

"Really?" Cloud asked absently, not really expecting an answer from Leon, and leaned back against Leon's weight, sighing slightly.

"Mm-hmm." Leon replied contently, and Cloud could feel his smile against his skin. "Let's go out today." Leon whispered, sighing again.

(A/N: Lawls…writing this part to Grottesca by Kozi is sooo much fun! I've been typing it to the beat! It's so much fun! -:dances:- Kozi's voice is sex on a Yaoi muffin.)

"Okay." Cloud replied, pushing away from the toilet bowl to turn around and face Leon, not even acknowledging that the man was stark naked. Pressing his forehead against Leon's muscular chest, Cloud closed his eyes and tried to _not_ think about Sephiroth or his poor younger brothers.

-oOoOoOo-

Roxas sat on the edge, feet dangling, thumping against the sun-bleached stucco, his face bathed in the light of the setting sun. Sighing, he leaned back, propping himself up with his hands, letting his head loll back.

"So…you and Nam split?"

Roxas turned his head to look at Hayner, who was lying down, sprawled lazily across the ledge, looking up at the clouds. "Yeah…"

Hayner hummed lightly, closing his eyes.

Roxas watched his best friend for a while before sighing. "What's up with you?"

The other man's eyes flashed open, his eyebrows pulling together in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You're acting all moody and shit. What's up?" Roxas replied, sitting up a bit straighter, turning slightly to look at Hayner easier.

Hayner sat up, glaring. "I'm _not_ being moody." He growled, brown eyes narrowed angrily. "Did _Olette_ say anything? Or Pence? Cuz if they did—"

"There _is_ something wrong." Roxas said, unfazed by Hayner's anger, seeing the slight anguish in the other male's eyes. "Look Hayner, I know we're not exactly as close as we were a year ago, but seriously…what's wrong?"

The angry male shut his lips tight and his cheeks puffed out, but he released it with a huge sigh, his entire body relaxing. "I…I guess I'm just all…mixed up in my head."

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "You're confused."

"_Very_…" Hayner murmured, looking out at the sun.

"About…what?" Roxas prodded lightly, watching his friend's facial expression change rapidly, too rapidly, in fact, for Roxas to even _begin_ to place the emotions.

"I've…I've been…_oh my **god**_ this is _so_ stupid!" Hayner yelled out in frustration, threading his fingers tightly into his hair, brown eyes shutting tightly. "I've been…seeing someone lately."

Roxas nodded slowly. "Okay…and this is cause for confusion…why?"

"_Because_ it's…they just…gah!" Hayner honestly looked like he was about to burst into tears when he finally opened his eyes. They were glassy looking, watery, and his face was contorting.

Roxas sighed. "You wanna tell me about her?"

Hayner laughed a single, loud bark, shaking his head. "Funny…your rather…assuming…"

And Roxas almost fell off the clock tower, eyes widening to the size of saucers, body going rigid. "Hayner…you…you're _gay_?"

Hayner looked over at Roxas cautiously, slight worry falling over his features. "Is that…a problem?"

"No…just…" Roxas thought for the proper word. "Unexpected. Does Olette or Pence know?"

"_No_." Hayner whispered, looking down at his hands. "I just…I'm still…warming up to this…whole…y'know…"

Roxas nodded slowly, staring at his friend before releasing a shaky breath. "So…what's _he_ like?"

"Oh…he…uh…he's pretty tough on the outside…but…y'know…just really nice really…just…fuck I sound like a girl." Hayner groaned, rubbing his face. "My _god_…it's not really _him_…well it is…cuz…just who he is and all…Pence would probably _kill_ me if he knew…"

"Why would Pence kill you?" Roxas asked, tilting his head.

"Cuz, this guy, he's not really the best guy for me to be seeing…and we haven't really…officially called each other…boyfriends or partners or whatever the fuck…we just…see each other in private…sometimes…" Hayner replied, looking away from his friend.

"So Pence _knows_ him, but doesn't know you're with him?" Roxas said, more to explain this to himself.

"Well Olette knows him…_hell_ you know him too—" Then Hayner just stopped talking, instantly looking away from Roxas.

"_I_ know him?"

"Let's drop this, please?" Hayner begged, his shoulders shaking.

"So it's someone from school? Like, high school?"

"_Drop_ it!" Hayner hissed, whipping around to glare at Roxas, anger seeping out of him. "I don't want to talk about him anymore!"

"Him, who?"

"S—just _him_!" Hayner turned away, burying his face in his hands.

Roxas smirked triumphantly as he _almost_ made his friend slip up. "Starts with an 'S'…" Roxas thought about it, then laughed. "Seifer?" He asked, only jokingly, elbowing Hayner, but froze when Hayner stiffened. "Oh…you're…are you…? Dude…"

The other male hunched over slightly, shaking a bit. "Yeah…yeah it's…it's him…" He whispered, voice barely audible.

"I can see…why Pence would want to kill you…he was a _bitch_ to us." Roxas whispered, looking away from his friend. "Uhm…wow…so…you and…and Seifer. That's…that's cool. I guess."

"_You_ aren't angry?" Hayner cried, whirling around to stare at Roxas, slightly wide-eyed. "I mean…he was…like…super bitch to you _a lot_ back in school!"

"Well, obviously he isn't too bad if you're…spending so much…time with him." Roxas replied, raising an eyebrow, blushing at how awkward this was. "Look, you like him, whatever…the end…"

Hayner sighed and smiled slightly. "Okay…thanks, I guess."

Roxas shrugged and looked back at the sun, frowning as he clued in to how dark it had gotten. "Wow, we should probably go. Sora is probably home by now and wonder—wait, Riku might be hanging with him. Again. And Demyx should be awake by now." Roxas chuckled, looking over at Hayner with a half-smile.

Hayner nodded. "My mum wanted me to stop by for dinner and everything to catch up. Haven't talked to her in a while."

The two males stood and traveled down the stairs in silence, going their separate ways at the base of the tower, merely waving at each other.

**TBC **

_Okies…this chapter was going to be WAY longer…but writer's block hit epically…so I had to stop… _

**_Thanks go to_**_ Loz, Ania24, yashagirl11, Padfoot, Leah, JeanneAndHerAlters, UmSophie, inu-ko13, Takika, fullmetal naruto girl. _

_Yeah…I'm REALLY tired lately, school is sucking…but hey, break is in a few days…and…Saturday I'm going to be surrounded by hot Japanese boys! I guess I should look at the bright side of things! _

_Well, read, love, review, repeat! _

_Number, kupo,  
Aggie B. _


	8. Almost Lover

_Wow…I got into such a Cleon mood. You have no idea…gah…_

_Onwards? _

**Chapter 8  
Almost Lover **

Cloud stared at his empty plate, eyes drooping with fatigue. His stomach had calmed down quite a bit over the course of the day, and he was beginning to feel just a bit more comfortable. He was managing to keep his thoughts off of Sephiroth and his brothers, as Leon had commanded him to, and found that it actually _did_ help. 

But he knew his guilt complex would rear it's hideous head and bite him in the ass. 

Leon cleared his throat, startling Cloud out of his thoughts. The blonde looked up, seeing Leon call over the waiter and pulling his wallet out. 

"Oh!" Cloud cried softly, standing up to pull out his wallet, too. It was actually quite an expensive meal they were getting, and Cloud was certain that Leon couldn't afford to throw his money around. If he did, why was he living in the shithole apartment he was so comfortably settled in. Cloud could tell that Leon must've lived there for years, the slightly older male's presence was _every_where. 

Leon leaned over the table and grabbed Cloud's wrist, smirking. "I'll pay." He said, pulling Cloud down so he was seated again. "The date was my idea, I'll pay." 

Cloud's blue eyes widened as he sputtered. "But it's…the bill." 

Leon waved him off as he handed his credit card to the waiter. "Look, I chose the location, I suggested the date, I pay." He turned an amused look on Cloud. "Is it really that much of a problem?" 

The blonde looked away from Leon, huffing a breath softly. He didn't want to sound ungrateful. With Sephiroth, he didn't really have to worry about the silver-haired man spending money on expensive dinners or the latest fashions or whatever the hell the man felt he _had _to buy. Not that Sephiroth took him out that often. 

"Come on, lets go home." Leon offered, standing up, smirking still. 

Cloud followed him out of the restaurant and they began their trek back to the apartment. 

Deciding after Cloud's episode and a morning rut that they _both_ needed some fresh air, they had walked around the suburbs for a good portion of the afternoon, mostly in comfortable silence, before ending up in the tourist's district, in front of the small, yet expensive, Italian restaurant. 

Leon actually took an almost childish interest in eating there, claiming he'd never seen it so empty and was excited to finally have the chance. In that moment, Cloud learned the other man's love for Italian foods. 

Cloud watched his feet as they walked, sighing almost sadly. He and Leon had been together for, what, a week, and the most the blonde knew about him was that the man loved his coffee, loved Italian food with a passion, and the brunette's favourite positions. 

"You're brooding." 

The blonde looked up at Leon, bewildered. "What? What do you mean?" 

"Exactly what I just said." Leon answered, his smirk gone, eyes staring straight ahead, serious. 

Cloud nibbled on his bottom lip. He had about five million questions to ask the other man—what are we? What do you want? How do you feel about me? Is this just about sex?—but he definitely did _not_ want to sound like a woman. "I am not brooding." 

"Then what are you doing? You have this…thoughtful, angry look." Leon observed, finally looking down at Cloud. "Tell me what you're thinking." 

Cloud narrowed his blue eyes. "You never tell me what you're thinking." _'Well there goes that 'not sound like a woman' plan…'_

"You never ask." 

The blonde huffed and looked away from the brunette, growing more frustrated than what was reasonable. "What do you _want_ from me, Leon?" He whispered, grimacing shortly after. He really hoped Leon hadn't heard him. 

"What do you _think_ I want from you?" He sounded slightly hurt, maybe a bit angry. 

Damn, he heard. "I…I'm not going to answer that, Leon." 

Leon stopped, grabbing Cloud's arm to spin him so they were facing each other. The brunette looked determined, maybe even angry, or frustrated. "Look, Cloud, I'm trying _really_ hard at this…boyfriend thing, because to tell you the truth, I haven't been in a relationship for _years_. I know I'm failing pretty hard now, but can you stop _setting_ me up for it?" 

The blonde stared at him, cocking an eyebrow, a slow blush rising to his cheeks. "Boyfriends? How can that be _possible_ if we don't talk?" 

Leon pursed his lips, exhaling through his nose. "You. Are really. Making this so fucking _hard_, Cloud, it's ridiculous. Do you even _listen_ to me? Or _yourself_? I haven't had to _talk_ to someone intimately in _years_!" The brunette grabbed his head, groaning. "Cloud, if you don't want this, okay. Whatever." 

Cloud felt panic flash through him suddenly and he reached out, grabbing Leon's arm. "No, I'm…I'm not saying that." 

"Then what _are_ you saying, Strife?" Leon hissed, looking up at Cloud, eyes narrowed. As the blonde flinched, the taller man shook his head. "Sorry, Cloud." 

Cloud looked at the pavement, crossing his arms. "Do _you_ want this…relationship?" 

Leon fidgeted uncomfortably, his arms hanging awkwardly at his sides while he thought. Finally, he lifted his hands slowly, grabbing Cloud's shoulders lightly, face betraying nervousness. "Cloud…I know we haven't really _known_ each other that long, and I'm not about to go off like a girl saying sappy shit like 'it feels like we've known each other forever' or whatever, but yeah. I do want this. I want to be _with_ someone. You." 

Cloud looked up at Leon, desperately wanting to be happy about the brunette's answer, but Cloud was almost incurably pessimistic. "We never talk." _'What is with this woman shit, Cloud!'_

Leon started to rub Cloud's arms tenderly, smiling softly, but he still seemed uncomfortable. "We _can_ if you…want to. I mean, it's just always felt okay to not talk." 

Cloud smirked slightly at the other male and shrugged. "I guess so." 

Leon smirked to, dropping his hands. "We sound like such women, Cloud." 

"Yeah." Cloud looked down at their feet, chuckling. "Let's go home now? I'm pretty tired." 

"Yeah." Leon agreed, his tone light, as he shifted to start walking. 

The blonde looked up, the tiniest of smiles in place as he followed the man's movement. 

They walked in silence for a few minutes before Cloud felt Leon lace their fingers together. Looking down at their joined hands, bewildered for a moment, Cloud began to actually smile, sighing a bit happily. 

The blonde would admit this, he loved Leon's skin, and not only in a sexual context. It was gorgeously soft, warm despite his usually cool attitude, and overall perfect of any flaw, save for the scar across the bridge of his nose and several other small scars on the attractive man's body. But even those Cloud liked, he'd always thought scars looked amazing. But he frowned as he noticed he had no idea where the scars had come from. 

He returned the soft hold on his hand, looking up at Leon's face, the brunette's face turned up to the sky, squinting to see the stars. 

Cloud wanted to know Leon better, no matter how sappy that sounded. 

Finally, they reached Leon's apartment, and the brunette pulled his hand away from Cloud to unlock the door, letting the blonde walk past him. 

Leon followed him with a smirk, moving towards the kitchen. "I want coffee." 

"You always want coffee." Cloud murmured, amused, as he sat down on the old, comfortable couch. 

Cloud could hear Leon's deep chuckle from the kitchen and smirked a bit wider. 

A few minutes later, the brunette wandered in, a cup of coffee in his hand, sitting down carefully next to Cloud. Sighing, Leon looked over at the other male, sipping cautiously at his steaming beverage. "Lets talk, Cloud. So this argument never shows up again." 

"About what?" Cloud asked, raising an eyebrow, eyeing the coffee hungrily. He'd never before had that much of a craving for caffeine _anything_. 

Leon shrugged. "Ask me anything." And he took another sip, this one slightly longer than the first tentative mouthfuls. 

"How'd you get your scars?" 

The brunette choked slightly, clearly not expecting _that_ kind of question, and set down his cup. Wiping the coffee that dribbled down his chin away, he looked at Cloud. "My scars?" 

Cloud raised his eyebrow higher. "You act like you don't know you have them. One's right down the center of your fucking face, Leon. It's sort of obvious." 

Leon looked away, shrugging. "Just a fight gone horribly violent, nothing too much behind it." Leon replied quickly, moving to pick his cup back up, but Cloud grabbed his wrist. 

"Don't _lie_, Leon." Cloud hissed, blue eyes narrowed. 

Leon glanced at Cloud, stormy eyes narrowing a fraction of an inch briefly before he turned his eyes to burn holes in the wall opposite of them. "Who said I'm lying, Cloud?" 

"Well, you're not telling me the whole truth either." 

Leon pursed his lips, running his free hand back through his hair. "Why do you want to know so bad?" 

Cloud let the man's wrist go as if it burned him before standing up. "Just wanting to get to know you better. Damn, sorry." 

With that, the blonde turned to walk out of the room, frustrated now with the other man. 

"M-my girlfriend. Rinoa. She sort of just forced her way into my life. I was content being alone. Didn't even ever take anyone home with me back then. Well, she was so stubborn." Leon laughed and Cloud slowly turned around, confused. 

"Girlfriend?" The blonde asked. 

Leon shrugged. "I didn't have a preference. But like I said, she just barged in. Bugged me into a date, and then another one, and then another, and finally we went steady and I found that I could actually love her. Seriously love her." 

Cloud walked forward and sat down on the coffee table, crossing his arms, waiting for him to continue. 

Leon looked away, looking uncomfortable with the conversation. "She was bubbly, happy, loud…really outgoing. Spontaneous. Just imagine my complete opposite. That's her. We saw each other since high school while she went to college. We lived together here and everything. It was comfortable. I kept order, she kept things alive." 

Leon crossed his arms and leaned back on the couch, looking up at the ceiling, sighing. "But I was never really in love with her, as much of a woman statement that is. I guess she felt the same way. She was cheating on me, I confronted the guy and we fought, I lost, and she ran off to live happily ever after. The end." 

Cloud reached over and touched Leon's knee lightly. "And you…turned gay?" 

Leon chuckled. "No, I just don't see much of a difference between genders. Attraction is attraction." Leon paused slightly, screwing his face up in thought. "Love is love." He finally said, still staring at the ceiling. 

Cloud wrinkled his brow, watching the brunette close his eyes, and looked down at the floor at his feet. He was really _bad_ at comforting people. Sephiroth never let on if he was upset, and his brothers were just incurably childish most of the time. The only one who could really cheer _them_ up was always Sephiroth. 

_'How…how would **I **want to be comforted?'_ Cloud thought, but winced slightly. He couldn't just assume that Leon would be the same, would want the same comfort, would even want consolation at all. Leon was always calm, collected, and mostly reserved. Even when they were intimate, he wasn't completely open. Cloud never dared delude himself to think that he could break the wall that was built up behind those gorgeous stormy eyes. That only ever happened in movies. Or shoujo Animes, not that he watched those. 

Finally deciding that silence wasn't helping at all, by the way Leon seemed to be retreating farther and farther into his own mind, Cloud made his move. 

He stood up slowly, stepping forward, and kneeled one knee on the couch next to the brunette's hip. Picking his other leg up so he straddled the man lightly, softly so it couldn't be interpreted as something sensual, and wrapped his arms around Leon's neck, his nose buried into the slightly older male's chocolate brown tresses. 

Leon stiffened immediately, as Cloud expected him to and he almost reconsidered his plan of action, but the brunette slowly wrapped his arms loosely around the younger man's waist. Cloud couldn't help but shiver as the other man buried his face into the crook of his neck, hot breath brushing across his skin, raising goose bumps all over the pale flesh. 

"Mm, Cloud. I might have to spout off sob stories more often." Leon murmured, chuckling softly, moving so he could brush a soft kiss across Cloud's pale skin at the nape of his neck. 

Cloud shuddered, running a hand through Leon's hair before tangling his slender fingers in the brown locks lightly and pulling the mans head back. 

Leaning down fast, the blonde caught Leon in a strong, passionate lip-lock, tongue pushing into the welcoming mouth. Cloud really couldn't describe the man's taste. It was better than Sephiroth's, sweeter, no trace of the venom the blond could always sense, even from the beginning. There wasn't anything angry, anything loathing. Just the spice of the dinner the man ate happily only a couple hours prior, the bitterness of black coffee, and that underlying sweetness only Leon could have. 

That taste alone made the illusion of him breaking down the brunette's walls so much more appealing to fantasize. But as soon as Cloud could break his own barrier down, he couldn't even dream of Leon being completely open to him. 

Leon's hand slipped up Cloud's back, fingers tangling into blonde hair just above his neck as he worked to deepen the kiss even more, his other arm pulling Cloud tighter against his chest. 

Pulling away from the kiss, Cloud trailed kisses up the man's cheek to the bridge of his nose, kissing the raised line of scar tissue tenderly. He wanted to press more into the story behind that scar, more about Rinoa (strangely enough). He just wanted to know _more_ about this mystery man he chose for a lover, a boyfriend, whatever it was they were. He just wanted to know more. 

But he didn't question, didn't press, just contented himself to fall in love with the deep moan that tapered off into a whimper that came from the man whose lap Cloud straddled tightly now. 

Sighing, satisfied with Leon's shaky breaths, Cloud moved back to the brunette's mouth, delving his tongue deep into the moist cavern, smirking at the soft gasp from the other man. 

Groaning, Leon pulled away, gasping, smirking up at Cloud. "As much as I want to continue this, we really shouldn't." He whispered, leaning forward to suck and nibble at Cloud's long neck. 

It was Cloud's turn to gasp, writhing slightly as the other man latched onto the junction of his neck and shoulder and sucked until the skin shone red, promising a bruise. Much to Cloud's chagrin, he could feel Leon smirking against his flesh. 

"Then you'd better stop doing that." Cloud warned in a moan, pressing his hips tighter against Leon's, enjoying the shudder that ran through the brunette's entire body. 

Leon gasped and pulled away from Cloud's pale flesh, letting his head loll back slightly so he could look up at the blonde. "I'm way too tired tonight." He said, a yawn emphasizing his words. Then the man turned completely serious, his arousal slowly sinking away. "And to be honest, it's just best we don't. I don't think either of us can handle it." 

For a brief second, Cloud was hurt, but reason returned to him in a flash. Cloud pried a personal story out of his lover, which probably brought back too many memories, _hurt_ memories, and they had argued most of the way home. Sex and anything pertaining to it was probably off the menu for a few days, to say the least. 

Cloud nodded, running his hand through Leon's hair, a small smile on his face as Leon's eyes fluttered shut, head leaning into the touch.. "Yeah. Finish your coffee and we'll go to bed." 

Leon opened his eyes and glanced at the silver laptop on the coffee table and shook his head. "I'm going to stay up for a bit. Just go to bed." 

Cloud raised an eyebrow before shrugging slightly. "Okay then. Good night, Leon." Leaning forward for another kiss, Cloud stood up and walked down to his and Leon's room, yawning hugely himself. 

"Night, Cloud." He heard the other male shout after him and he couldn't help but smile as he shut the door. 

**TBC **

_Okies, really short, yes. But I haven't updated in FOR FREAKING EVER and it ended pretty fluffy and the next part I **really** have to put thought into which means it would've taken **longer** to write. _

_Basically, my excuse is laziness. I was lazy and **really** not inspired to write this. And then…I dunno…I just…started writing again. I dunno. Oh, end we've been working on the house and stuff…replacing EVERY PIECE OF FLOORING IN OUR HOUSE WITH HARDWOOD…except for the kitchen…sooo…yeah…aaaaand I was raped into reading something…and Tuesdays, even if it's only for three hours, I have work at (oh my gosh!) the library! _

_DOOOOOOM _

_Anyway! Yeah! _

_So…update! Yay! I'm happy! And it's a whole chapter of CLEON! _

_Next chappie we have some Sora and Riku stuff, and then some Axel and Roxas stuff (not AkuRoku, yet loves) and some Zemyx -:hearts:- yup yup yup! _

_Sooo…yeah! _

**_Quick thanks to _**_Loz, Ania24, Ellipsis the Great, Jeanne, Padfoot, fullmetal naruto girl, Takika, YaoiLover114, Suna's assasin, Becca-Blossom, Silver Butterfly, Zoa, **and** Silverwind Kitsune. _

_Oh my gosh…by your guys' reviews…you're going to be SURPRISED with the upcoming twists! _

**_ANIA24 SHUT UP! YOU HAVE AN UNFAIR ADVANTAGE OVER THE OTHER READERS AND YOU KNOW IT! _**

_Oh yes…she knows what is going to happen. She'd BETTER NOT RUB IT IN YOUR FACES! _

_Love you babe! -:hearts:- _

_Oh my gosh…Crisis Core…NEXT. WEEK. –:death:- ZACK IS ALMOST MIIIIIIIIIINE! _

_Not **you** Zack, my Seme Seductor. Sorry…but I can't really own **you**, as much as I want to…it's against laws and the constitution. Darn… _

_BUT I CAN OWN **ZACK FAIR** _

_Read, love, review, repeat! _

_Number, kupo,  
Aggie B. _


	9. Bleeding Love

Whoo update!

Umm…yeah…so…joking around with my sister…well, I was more being sarcastic…but…whatever…I said something…and then POOF it was like plot twist! I've been thinking about how to make Cloud and Leon's story sad. Like it's sorta emo right now, but not angsty like Sora and Riku's is going to be and Axel and Roxas'…but when I made my comment I'm just like "OH EM GEE ANGST!!"

So…yeah…I'm awesome, don't deny it! But it'll all work out in the end, promise!

Onwards!

Chapter 9  
Bleeding Love

Riku laid sprawled across the floor, fast asleep, snoring softly as he snuggled into the comfortable pillow he was currently hugging tightly to himself.

The 'pillow' actually happened to be the thigh of a blushing Sora as he sat there, trying to concentrate on the movie and ignore the warm breath fanning over the bare skin bellow the hem of his boxers.

For what must have been the seven hundredth time that evening, Sora tried to pull his leg free, only to fail miserably.

He really didn't know what to make of the other man's constant need for physical contact, that was for sure. Riku was always scruffing his hair, hugging him, even tickling him. He really didn't even know why he let all this go on.

He was so busy with his own life, and now with hiding Demyx and Riku constantly coming and going, Sora felt smothered again.

But he couldn't really deny it, he actually enjoyed his time with Riku. When Roxas had told him that Riku wanted to hang out, Sora was delighted. He liked seeing Riku, he liked knowing he was needed for once, he liked being…liked.

As much as Sora argued with himself that Roxas needed him, he knew that the blonde really didn't. Roxas may do stupid things every now and then, but since the…accident, the younger male had smartened up at least a little bit. He could manage on his own if he really needed to.

Cloud sure as hell didn't need Sora, even though the brunette knew his older cousin had some issues to work out. Perhaps Leon would help him.

Sora actually snorted at that thought. Yeah, Leon had so many issues, it'd take years for him to work those out. How was he to help Cloud?

But the brunette immediately beat himself up for that thought. They could easily help each other if they just opened up to each other.

Demyx didn't need Sora. Yeah he needed a place to stay other than home, but he didn't need Sora's constant presence. He didn't need Sora's advice, didn't need Sora's hugs or reassurances. He had Zexion, and that made him content enough.

But Riku, he needed Sora, and the brunette thrived on that thought. Riku needed Sora's words, even if it was only babbling, needed Sora to be around, and he even admitted to needing Sora's laughter. Whenever he was about to run off and find some source to drugs, he always came to Sora, always, shaking and begging Sora to talk to him.

Finally loosening up, realizing resisting was futile, Sora moved his hand to stroke Riku's silver hair, shivering involuntarily at how soft it was. The sleeping male's breath hitched slightly and his tongue flicked out to wet his lips, brushing Sora's thigh lightly.

Startled at the goose bumps that accidental brush excited, Sora stopped touching the man's hair, blue eyes staring hugely at the television screen.

Couldn't Riku just wake up already and go home? Sora was done being needed for the night. He was just too confused at this sudden wave of he-didn't-even-know.

Sora let his head fall back to rest on the couch and groaned, eyes closing slowly. Picking up his cell phone, he looked at the time. 'Damn, ten. Where the hell is Roxas? And why the hell did Demyx have to go to bed so early?!'

-oOoOoOo-

Roxas walked down the street, looking up at the sky, hands buried into his pockets as he thought to himself, avoiding going home.

The apartment was just full of strays lately. There was Riku who, for some reason, latched onto Sora. Must be the charming smile. Then there was Demyx, for obvious reasons. His face was still pretty black-and-blue, just starting to turn that ugly green-yellow colour.

And then there was himself.

And who wouldn't have muddled up thoughts after finding out their best friend is sleeping with his former arch rival?

Groaning, Roxas lifted his hand to scratch the back of his head, hissing as his fingernail grazed over a scar on the back of his head.

"It's not safe for a kid to be walking around at night."

Roxas whipped around, wondering how the hell he missed that giant head of red hair again. The man was just leaning against the wall, out in the open, smoking. How'd he miss the tempting stench of a cigarette, for that matter?

"I'm not a kid, Axel." Roxas hissed back, crossing his arms.

Axel smirked, throwing the cigarette to the ground and snuffing it out with the toe of his boot. "Sure look like one. How old are you?"

"Almost nineteen." Roxas growled. "You?"

Axel shoved his hands into the deep pockets of a pair of dirty blue jeans, shrugging as his green eyes glanced at a passing car. "Almost twenty-eight. You're a kid, Roxy."

The blonde's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Don't call my Roxy."

The redhead laughed. "Jeez, you're picky! What do you want me to call you, kiddo?"

"Roxas works fine." He retorted shortly, looking away from the man.

Axel sighed and ran his hands back through his hair, yawning. "What're you doing out so late, anyway? Isn't your brother going to throw a spazz attack?"

"How would you know he throws 'spazz attacks'?" Roxas asked, actually amused.

Axel shrugged, stepping forward. "Riku's told Larx about them. He tells Larxene and me a lot about your brother, you know?"

Roxas laughed now, shaking his head. "Just what Sora needs right now, a guy crushing on him!"

The redhead shrugged, smirking. "So, you avoiding going home, or what?"

The blonde looked up at Axel, quirking an eyebrow. "I guess? With Demyx and Riku there, it's sort of crowded." 'And Sora doesn't need another fucked up kid in his face.'

"Mm." Axel nodded, looking away. "So Riku's at your place?"

"Well, he came by in the morning asking for Sora, and after I told Sora about it, he went straight over to your place." Roxas shrugged, watching the older man's face become thoughtful, resisting calling it beautiful. He couldn't use 'artistically speaking' now that he's already met the man. "Sora had the majority of the day off, so they probably spent the entire day together."

Axel nodded, turning stunning green eyes to Roxas, smirking again. "Larxene says she likes you, you know. You're 'spunk' or whatever the hell."

Roxas blushed lightly and looked away for a second. "You'd better look out then, I'm quite tempting. I might turn her to the dark side of infidelity." Then he smirked mischievously. "Or even you."

Axel threw his head back with booming laughter. "Man, kid, you're funny." He muttered when he calmed down. "Seriously though, she and I have been seeing each other since high school. That's at least ten years, kiddo. There isn't any way we're ditching each other."

Roxas had to wonder why Axel had even said that. Couldn't he have just said something witty back? It was like the man was trying to convince someone that he loved his fiancée.

Shrugging, Roxas looked around. "Well then, I should get home soon. I can't avoid pestering my brother with my existence much longer." He murmured to himself, hands going back to his pockets, shoulders sagging.

"Hey kid, I don't like you walking around alone at night." Axel suddenly said. "I was going to stop for coffee and head back to the apartment. Wanna join me?"

Roxas raised an eyebrow at the man, smirking. "Well, it seems you've forgiven me?"

Axel nodded, shrugging. "Everyone has their bad days. Whatever. I've been given worse verbal lashings, so has Larx. We can deal with a bratty kid's words."

"Wow, thanks. Are those your best 'lets be friends' words?" Roxas laughed. "I'm impressed. They're even better than mine."

The redhead smirked, tilting his head. "And what, exactly, were yours?"

Roxas laughed, bringing one of his hands back up to the back of his head to scratch lightly at his scalp, fingering the scar. "They were going to be 'well you look interesting, I'm Roxas' but they came out something like 'take your fuck-buddy and the fag and get out' or something."

The other man laughed. "No, your 'lets be friends' words surpass even mine!" Shaking his head lightly, Axel began walking. "C'mon, lets go get coffee."

-oOoOoOo-

Jittery from the caffeine overload, Roxas and Axel walked in silence, the elder of the two smirking up at the sky, hands in his pockets. His posture was straight, standing at his tallest as his lanky legs, clad in dirty jeans, took wide strides. He wore a loose button-down white shirt, also dirtied.

The red spikes in the older man's hair were kinked, Roxas now realized, and sure enough, there was an elastic band on the man's wrist.

"So, what do you do?" The blonde asked, now curious, watching acidic eyes look down at him.

"Be more specific?" The man replied, raising a red eyebrow, amused.

"I mean your job." Roxas muttered, exasperated.

Axel hummed, nodding slowly. "Construction. Why?"

The blonde shrugged, looking away at a small shop they passed. "Just wondering." Roxas sighed, looking over at Axel. "Namine's been bugging me to ask you about, you know, her drawing you."

Axel's face contorted slightly as he scratched the back of his head, sighing. "I dunno. What does she do, I mean?"

Roxas shrugged. "I haven't really…modeled for her in over a year. I'm sure she'll just do some preliminary sketches of you the first time she sees you, you know?" The blonde sighed, slouching as he dug his hands deep into his pockets.

"So, you and her were dating?" Axel asked, something in his tone mocking, as they entered the parking lot to the apartment complex.

Roxas snorted, nodding. "Yeah. Five years."

"And you just broke up?" The older man asked, an eyebrow raised, as they reached the green belt.

The blonde shrugged, looking down at his feet, ascending the stairs slowly, nibbling his bottom lip. Finally as he reached the top of the steps, he turned to look at Axel. "Thanks for the coffee and walking with me, I guess. And you know, forgiving me."

Axel waved his hand dismissively and pulled out his keys. "No problem, kiddo. I'll talk to you later, then. I mean, about the drawing thing. I still really have to think about it. Can you check real fast that Riku's at your place?"

Roxas opened the unlocked front door, and after seeing only a glimpse of silver hair, he turned and nodded. "Yeah. I think he passed out on our floor. I'll just let him sleep, if that's okay?"

Axel nodded. "Yeah, just as long as I know where the idiot is. Later, Roxas."

Roxas waved and slipped into the apartment, shutting and locking the door, before turning around and barely holding in his insane giggles.

Riku was clinging to Sora's leg, face pressed into his brother's milky thigh, sound asleep. It appeared as though his brother had fallen asleep at one point and had fallen sideways, curling his lithe form around Riku's head, cheek pressed against the other male's back, an arm slung lazily over the silveret's ribcage.

"Yeah, they've been like that for the past hour or so."

Roxas looked over at Demyx, who was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, an amused smile on his face. "It's actually quite adorable."

The older blonde nodded, grinning at his sleeping brother. "Quite. I'm tired. I'm going to bed."

Demyx nodded and smiled at Roxas. "Me too. I just came out for a snack and got distracted with them."

Chuckling, he followed the teen to down the small hall and disappeared into his room with little more than a 'night' and fell asleep as soon as he hit the pillow.

-oOoOoOo-

Roxas smiled as a customer waved goodbye, before seating himself on a stool and opening his book back up to continue reading. The woman that occasionally shows up kept a collection of books in the back and Roxas was actually able to find something actually resembling action.

At first he was upset to find that it was from the point of view of a seventeen-year-old girl, he got caught up in the storyline rather quickly, quickly forgetting how incredibly girly some parts got because there were vampires. Vampires. That's got to count for something, right?

Anyway, he was completely caught up in the book, just getting to the battle at the end, the final showdown. Roxas sat on the edge of his stool, bringing the book closer to his face.

'Jesus, are you mentally unstable, you idiotic girl?! Can't you tell it's a trap?' He thought angrily at the main character, pursing his lips. 'Of course not…you're an idiot. SEE?! A trap. Smooth move, genius. Now you're going to die.'

And as the villain made his move, a slam on the counter startled the blonde out of his reading with a horribly high pitched squeal.

Looking up at the customer, he pouted at seeing his boss. "Yes, sir?"

"Slacking, are we?" The fat man asked, pudgy face wrinkled into a hateful frown.

Roxas looked around the shop, and upon seeing no one, raised an eyebrow at his boss. "No one's here, dude." Then he held up the book he was reading. "And I'm doing something constructive. I'm not smoking or anything."

The man glared. "You could stock the shelves!"

"Already did, sir."

The fat man turned red. "Your brother won't be happy to hear that you—"

"What're you going to tell him?" Roxas asked, now growing angry. "You gonna call him, most likely interrupt his valuable sleep or even class saying 'oh god! Roxas is reading, Sora! You have to do something with your delinquent brother!'? Seriously, what do you want me to do?"

"Oh, now you're giving me attitude?" His boss growled, crossing his fat arms over his chest.

Roxas put his book down and stood up, leaning against the counter. "Look, what do you want? Me reading and doing something worthwhile, or going back to the bitch I was when I started here?"

"You're still a bitch." The man retorted, startling Roxas with the use of profanity.

Composing himself, Roxas narrowed his eyes in a furious glare. "Fuck you. Get the hell out of here if all you're going to do is bitch at me."

Catching sight of red hair past his boss, Roxas quickly turned his attention away from the angry man. "Cappuccino?"

The tall redhead smiled and stepped up beside Roxas' boss. "Yeah. Thanks."

Roxas glanced over his shoulder as he mixed the drink, taking in Axel's nice clothing. "You're looking…clean today."

"Roxas!" His boss hissed, glancing at Axel worriedly, ready to apologize.

Axel barely even glanced at the other man and laughed. "Yeah, I'm picking Larx up and we're going out for the afternoon. She just wants to see the bridal boutiques around here."

Roxas raised his eyebrow slightly. "I thought you said she's mostly a man, sometimes."

"Yeah, well I guess being engaged gets to the manliest of women." Axel snorted, putting a five down on the counter as Roxas handed him his cappuccino. The redhead glanced at the book on the counter as Roxas got him his change and smirked. "Larxene read that series. She swears by it."

Roxas' cheeks coloured slightly. "I picked it up this morning. It's really good, but I don't think it's really your style."

"Yeah. Hey, I think I'll do that thing for Namine." Axel said suddenly, leaning on the counter and sipping at his hot drink. "Will you come along?" He asked as timidly as someone like Axel possibly could. The man oozed confidence.

Roxas laughed, not even glancing at his boss who was still present and gawking. "I was planning on it. Who else would keep her from attacking you? And with Kairi there, it'll be even worse. Sora might have to come along."

"That's reassuring." Axel muttered, looking down at his watch. "Hey, I'll get back to you on the best time for me. Later, Roxas." And with that, the man strode out, running a hand back through his hair.

Roxas turned to look at his boss. "What was that about me being a bitch?"

Then a familiar brunette poked her head around the corner, grinning, her green eyes sparkling brightly. "Hey, Roxas."

Roxas waved at her and she skipped in, leaning against the counter and bending over it slightly.

"So, who's your friend?" She asked, her voice happy.

"My neighbor. We had coffee last night. He's living with that Riku guy." Roxas explained, giving a dismissing glare to his boss before turning a smile on Olette again. "Where's Pence?"

She shrugged, crossing her arms. "He's pestering Hayner. They started arguing and I got sick of listening to the yelling and left. Hayner's been in a foul mood since he got back from hanging out with you."

Roxas hung his head guiltily. "Yeah, I sort of pestered him, too. But, whatever." Roxas shrugged, smiling at her brightly again.

"So he's mad at you, too?" She asked before gasping, eyes wide. "He told you, didn't he? What's been bothering him."

"Yeah—"

"Tell me!" Olette begged, laying down over the counter, grabbing the front of Roxas' shirt, rocking him back and forth in her grasp. "Please, tell me! We've been putting up with his whining for I don't know how long!"

"Wow, I've never seen you so insensitive, 'Lette." Roxas remarked, raising his eyebrow at the girl.

Her green eyes glared up at him. "We're the ones suffering his mood swings everyday, Roxas. Please tell me?"

"No."

Olette gaped up at Roxas before standing straight, hands on her hips. "And why not?"

"Because he told me by accident, and he doesn't want you guys to know." Roxas threw his hands up in front of himself as Olette set a positively murderous glare on him. "Yet. Down, girl!"

Olette huffed a breath and lifted one hand to push hair out of her face in a way only a woman could do it. "Oookay. Hey, is it alright if we crash at your place for dinner tonight? We sort of…don't have much in our budget to go out for dinner."

"No problem." Roxas replied, smiling softly. "It's probably going to be pizza anyway. I get off at six, if you guys wanna meet me and walk with me or something."

Olette smiled warmly at him, reaching out to scruff his hair a bit. "You're looking better than what we expected Roxas." She said softly, leaning over the counter to give him a gentle hug and a brushed kiss on the cheek. "We'll see you at six then? I'm going to go see Nami. I really don't want to be around the boys."

"If they're the same as the used to be, they're going to be brooding all night." Roxas said with a laugh.

"Yup. Later, Roxas!" And with that, she ran from the gift shop, waving, and disappeared out the front doors.

Smiling to himself, both from the two relatively good visits he received and the fact that his fat boss disappeared during his conversation with Olette, Roxas sat down and began reading again.

-oOoOoOo-

Sora woke up, his neck sore, his thigh wet, and his face pressed into the hardest, yet warmest, pillow ever. Open his eyes slowly, he caught sight of silver hair and started suddenly, kicking the poor, drooling man in the gut, effectively waking him up.

"Ow, fuck Sora!" Riku cried, letting go of the other male's thigh, rubbing his gut as he sat up. "You didn't have to kick me." He groaned, stretching now.

Sora blushed and wiped the saliva off his thigh and stood up, stumbling as he realized his leg was asleep. Cracking his neck, he looked at the clock in the kitchen and gasped. "Shit! It's two-thirty! Hurry, Riku, go get dressed! We have to leave!"

"I forgot my key." Riku groaned, eyes wide. "I cannot be late for my first day!"

"Um, go steal some of Demyx's clothes!" Sora cried as he ran down the hall to his room, slamming the door shut behind himself. Grabbing a pair of black shorts, he pulled them on and slipped his socked feet into yellow and black sneakers before ripping a blue and red t-shirt down out of his closet.

Pulling the shirt on as he walked out into the living room again, he couldn't help but laugh at Riku. He was clad in a pair of Demyx's tight pants and a loose striped sweater. The silveret looked downright uncomfortable as he adjusted his crotch.

"Damn, these are fucking tight." He complained, following Sora out of the apartment. "Where is Demyx, anyway?"

"The library, no doubt." Sora replied with a shrug as he opened his car door, and sat down quickly, finger-combing his spikes into place. "I can't believe we slept in so late." Sora muttered, sighing as he started the car.

Riku shrugged, smiling. "I didn't mind."

Sora blushed and pulled out of the parking space and hurried out of the parking lot.

As the sped down the road, Riku grabbed the handle above his car door desperately, hissing as the brunette blew through a usually busy intersection. "You're going to get us killed!" Riku cried worriedly, looking over at Sora wildly.

"Shuddup, you pansy!" Sora giggled. "At least you're not in Kairi's car. Damn, her driving is terrifying. I fear for my life in that death trap."

"Awesome." Riku muttered, closing his eyes tightly, wincing as the other male's phone began ringing. "Don't. Answer that. Unless you slow down."

As the brunette sighed, the car slowed down and he flipped his phone open.

"Hello?" Sora quirked an eyebrow. "The whole gang? I can't pay for that much pizza, Rox…can Namine come over and make us something? I'd hate to ask her, though…you can ask her, can't you? Thanks. Cool."

Sora hung up and glanced over at Riku. "Hey, you wanna come over for dinner tonight? Nami makes a mean stroganoff."

Riku shrugged, smiling. "Sure. Mind if Axel and Larxene come over too? They can't cook for themselves if their life depended on it. Axel gets too stove-happy, and Larxene believes everything is microwaveable."

Sora laughed, nodding. "Of course they can come over! We'll have a party of sorts. I'll pick you up after my class?" Sora asked as he pulled into the parking lot of the medical plaza, stopping at a curb.

"Sure." Riku offered a smile as he opened his door and stepped out, looking back at Sora. Grinning, he blew the brunette a kiss before shutting the door with a slam and running off, leaving Sora alone and blushing.

-oOoOoOo-

Roxas stepped out of the library, waving to a woman behind the main counter and was received by his two best friends, the tension between them thick enough to drown in.

Pence was purposely not looking at Hayner, fidgeting angrily, eyes darting everywhere, staying a constant four feet away from his best friend.

Hayner looked like he was about to puke or something, clearly uncomfortable with his friend's silence, face tinted in a permanent blush. Looking at Roxas, hope filled his brown eyes. "Hey Roxas. Olette's at your apartment with Namine cooking."

"Okay." 'Please don't make me walk between you, please don't make me walk between you, pleasedon'tmake—DAMMIT!'

So here Roxas was, walking in the four foot space between his quarreling friends, drowning in the oppressive tension.

They barely reached Roxas' apartment when the shorter blonde ran through the door and joined the two women in the kitchen, begging to help them.

Hayner followed Roxas like a lost puppy and set about stirring the ground beef for Namine as she busied herself with peeling potatoes.

An hour later, Riku and Sora had joined the group all eating in the living room, Hayner and Pence still not speaking an sitting on opposite sides of the room, Axel and Larxene in the kitchen scooping up their servings of stroganoff and mashed potatoes.

Pence was constantly opening his mouth through the whole evening, Roxas noticed, moving his lips slightly before clamping his mouth shut tightly without a word. He wasn't even talking to Olette. Roxas worried that, if Hayner did tell the other male, Pence was ignoring him more for the fact that he was gay.

Shaking his head, Roxas got more involved in the conversation, which was centered around welcoming Demyx and Zexion as they walked through the front door, both smiling pleasantly, smelling like a coffee shop.

When everyone was seated finally, booming laughter filled the room. Even Hayner had loosened up enough to joke around with the rest of the adults (and the teen, remembering Demyx's presence).

But Roxas needed to involve Pence, get him out of the silence he had crawled into. This wasn't like him at all. Even if he was pissed at Hayner, he at least didn't let other people see it, he was never the spoil-sport of the party. He must be really furious with his best friend.

But no one had the courage to confront Pence on his moodiness, not wanted whatever anger he was feeling to turn on them.

By the time everyone was finished eating, Roxas had enough and finally reached out to include Pence.

"Hey, Pence! What do you think—"

Something behind Pence's eyes snapped and he jumped up, pointing an accusing finger at Hayner, who, in turn, backed away slightly, startled. "You're sleeping with Seifer!" Pence shrieked, ending all laughter, all conversation, all sound in general.

Olette's green eyes widened slightly as she gaped at her tall blonde friend, mouth moving wordlessly, small little gasps escaping her throat.

Namine just turned her head to look into Roxas' eyes, asking 'is that really true?' Roxas nodded softly, looking back at Hayner.

"Well!" Demyx cried, laughing nervously and jumping up. "I'm going to do dishes!" And he began clambering to pick up everyone's plates.

"But they're paper plates." Zexion whispered, standing up and helping his lover.

"I'll do them anyway." Demyx growled scurrying off to the kitchen.

Axel and Larxene stood up at the same time, eyes wide, the same amused glint shining in their depths. At that moment, Roxas saw why they were engaged. "We should get going. You sticking around, Riku?" Axel asked, edging towards the door.

"Um, no!" Riku cried, climbing clumsily to his feet, managing to "accidentally" trip and crawl across Sora's lap, sending the other male into a fit of blushing and stuttering.

The three neighbors left without a word or wave, shutting the door softly behind themselves.

"Bye guys!" Zexion called as he rushed out of the kitchen and out the front door, slamming the door.

Hayner was glaring at Pence now, fire burning menacingly in his brown as, a growl bubbling up from within his throat.

And without a word, Hayner stormed out of the apartment, Olette jumping up and running after him, calling his name.

TBC

IF YOU KNOW WHAT BOOK ROXAS IS READING YOU GET A COOKIE!!

Woo…average chapter. I like it though. It's really…building up to the real stuff…anyway…

I was so worried about making Axel not hate Roxas, but he's actually a really forgiving person in the game I noticed, so…yeah!

Blah…it's an okay chapter.

Okay, I admit, I was going to write more…but Crisis Core is calling my name!

Oh my god that game is awesome! Oh my god…ohmygod…ZOH MAH GAWD!!

Crisis Core is…just…GAH! And…I admit…Zack and Aerith are positively ADORABLE together! I love them both. Zack is amazing! Sephiroth his funny BEFORE he goes crazy! He actually smiles and laughs and stuff!

Genesis is a douche. Nuff said. And I've already cried playing the game and I'm not even halfway through. That means I'm going to SOB at the end. Yup.

But Cloud is fsking adorable! He actually smiles! And laughs! And is just so CUTE that I just want to smother him with hugs and kisses and I just wanna love him and be totally like a mother and yeah!

GAH! I love this game!!

Thanks go to x.jessface, Nicole, Leah, Mr. Frost, Jeanne, Caitlynn, Silver, Zoa, Takika, Padfoot, Becca-Blossom, fullmetal naruto girl for reviewing! I love you guys!

Anyway, read, love, review, repeat!

Number, kupo,  
Aggie B.


	10. The Boys Are Too Refined

_Oh my god…I love all you readers like no other! I love you more than I love Crisis Core!_

_El oh el, I have to quote my Seme Seductor:_

-blinks in confusion- -again- -once more-  
Did...did you just say a het couple was...cu-coughs-cute?  
RUN FOR COVER the end is near! Okay people, spend your last moments with your loved ones! _jaaaaykaaay_  
-sends to newspaper...next days headline: Yaoiqueen caught admitting het couple adorable- )

_El oh el, I love you man! You make me laugh all the time! But seriously…Zack and Aerith are adorable with each other!_

_Anyway! Yeah…_

_ONWARDS_

**Chapter 10 (holy shat!)  
The Boys Are Too Refined**

Roxas stood above Pence, who sat on the top step, staring out across the greenbelt. Neither of them had spoken since Olette and Hayner left two hours prior, and Sora and Demyx were hanging out in the living room nervously.

Fifteen minutes ago, Roxas had to stifle giggles as Cloud rounded the corner of the steps, his intent to come up, but he stopped short at seeing the two younger males. Obviously _seeing _the tension, the elder blonde immediately whipped back around and disappeared around the corner again.

"So, Pence." Roxas finally said, getting tired of just sitting around in the dark with his moody friend. It was coming up on midnight and the blonde needed _some_ sleep before he had to go to work. "What's exactly your problem?"

"What do you _think_?" Pence hissed, his tone very uncharacteristic. He turned to glare up at Roxas. "Hayner is sleeping with _Seifer_."

"Is this about him being gay in general?" Roxas asked, crossing his arms.

Pence jumped up, glaring into Roxas' blue eyes. "You think I'm that shallow to be angry at my best friend, my _closest_ friend because he happens to prefer dicks?"

Roxas snorted. "Then please clarify exactly where your problem is with Hayner."

"It's not with Hayner!" Pence shrieked, shutting his eyes tightly. "It's with _Seifer_." Then he paused, calming down. "And I guess it is with Hayner, too."

Roxas waited patiently for Pence to continue.

The brunette sighed and leaned heavily against the railing. "When Hayner told me…he liked guys, I told him that it was okay. Then he told me about his…_flings_ with Seifer." Pence closed his eyes and took a calming breath. "You know, Seifer has changed in the past year. You probably wouldn't even believe he was the one responsible for the daily ass-whoopings he put us through."

"Then where's your problem?" Roxas asked again, growing more confused and more exasperated. "I mean, you're cool with Hayner being…gay, and you're semi-okay with Seifer. The problem is…?"

"Just the fact that they're just _sleeping_ with each other!" Pence finally cried. "Hayner said it himself! They just…sleep with each other! They don't really talk, they don't ever just…I don't even know! It's just, how can Hayner have stooped so low to have flings with someone?"

The blonde wrinkled his brow in thought, shrugging. "Maybe neither of them want a relationship." He offered.

"_Obviously _Hayner isn't very happy, and _obviously _he's ashamed of his…relationship with Seifer." Pence muttered, looking away.

Roxas covered his face, sighing heavily. "Look, Pence. Relationships are terrifying enough, you know that, right? There's all this pressure and whatever-the-fuck, right?"

Pence slowly nodded as Roxas brought his hands back down from his face.

"Hayner just came out of the closet to himself somewhere between high school and today. And he's started having 'flings' with Seifer during that time. Whatever. I don't care when it happened, honestly." Roxas sighed and massaged his temples. "Now he's in a relationship with someone that most society looks down on and hates and that just adds to the pressure. Imagine if they went steady, the stress they'd go through."

The brunette looked away, nodding.

"When they're ready to take that…step to being a steady couple is up to them, and you have no right to judge them. Being Hayner's best friend, you should stand by him right now." Roxas continued, blushing as his small speech came to a close.

"Since when are you so smart, Roxas?" Pence asked, somewhat jokingly.

"Fuck you." Roxas muttered. "So how 'bout it?"

Pence nodded and looked back out at the greenbelt with a sigh. "I still have to think. And I should leave Hayner alone before even looking at him." He looked at Roxas hopefully, a small, sad smile on his lips. "Can I spend the night?"

Roxas chuckled and nodded, letting his friend in.

**-the next day-**  
_(A/N: the way I had this when I first wrote it, the time change wasn't that clear…so…be expecting to see this more often…)_

Sora, once again, couldn't even begin to fathom how he got into _another_ awkward position with his silver-haired friend.

He'd been napping in his room quite peacefully, when Riku walked in and flopped down on the bed next to Sora, wrapping his arms tightly around the brunette.

But Sora didn't fight it, at first, at least. Riku was a mess, shaking and crying. His already pale skin was a sickly white, almost transparent it seemed. He looked about to fall apart.

Riku's fingernails, allowed to grow long with neglect, dug into Sora's shoulder blades through his thin t-shirt as he clung to the smaller brunette, sobbing into the crook of his neck, begging quietly for Sora to hold him.

And Sora did hug him, and he cried silently, his face turned so the silveret couldn't see his tears. He didn't need to know his support was almost as weak as him. Sora couldn't do that to Riku. So they laid like that, tangled together, until Riku drifted off to a peaceful slumber, his fingers going lax and spreading across the brunette's shoulder blades.

It was so comfortable, holding Riku, listening to him sleep, murmuring insignificant things in his sleep, and it was downright pleasurable to feel the man's breath against his throat.

And this is where Sora is now, laying in his bed, Riku hugged up against his small body, and actually beginning to enjoy the feeling of the other man touching him period.

Then a mercy angel came to Sora in the form of an alarm clock going off at 2:15, successfully waking the silveret up, quite violently, actually.

Riku wrenched away from Sora, sitting up straight to look around the room, a look of panic in his eyes before his eyes settled on Sora. Slowly, he calmed down and ran his hands through his hair. "Sorry for attacking you earlier."

"It's okay, you needed someone." Sora murmured, watching the man glance around.

Slowly, Riku nodded, chuckling. "Larxene is no help. She just stared at me when I came out of my room."

Sora sat up, supporting himself on his arms and tilting his head to look at Riku. The silveret leaned forward suddenly, burying his face into Sora's neck again, sighing.

Goosebumps rose everywhere on the left side of Sora's body, eyes fluttering shut slightly before he snapped back to awareness, scooting away from the other male.

"I have to get ready, okay? And then we'll leave." Sora murmured, running a hand back through his hair softly, looking around briefly.

Riku looked down at his lap, a dejected look crossing his features as he sighed, nodding. "Okay. I'll wait on the couch, then." And the silveret stood up and left the room, still shaking slightly, but less than he was when he arrived earlier.

-oOoOoOo-

Roxas glared at the closed book on the counter. That damn book was so confusing. He realized it was a mystery novel and that it would take until the very end to understand everything at all, but damn was it confusing.

_'So…the author of very good books doesn't make it in the world of writing, he had a love affair with his best friend's sister, they got caught and she turned out pregnant, there was a fire that the author started himself to burn all the books he'd ever written…and…now he's…after…the police chief?'_ Roxas scratched his head, frustrated. "Damn, my brain is not equipped for this confusing of a plot!"

"Hey, Rox. Stop talking to yourself please?"

Roxas looked up abruptly to see Hayner leaning on the counter, looking tired, but amused. The taller blonde was wearing just a pair of worn blue jeans and a ragged t-shirt. There was a carry-on bag at his feet.

"You're leaving already?" Roxas asked, somewhat disappointed.

Hayner shrugged, looking down at the counter. "Just me, and no it's not about Pence's outburst yesterday." The other man sighed, looking around the gift shop. "Pence told me what you said to him last night, after everyone left."

Roxas turned away from his friend slightly, uncomfortable with the turn of conversation. "Yeah?"

"Thanks." Hayner said with a smile. "Pence, he apologized to me about freaking out. He really didn't think about everything before freaking out."

"So why are you going back early?" The smaller blonde asked, tilting his head slightly.

Hayner sighed, digging his hands into his pockets. "Pence and I need some time to breathe still. You don't have those kind of arguments and just go back to being best buddies immediately. And, what you said really got me thinking, and the way Pence reacted. Plus, seeing how open Demyx and Zexion were, I guess it wouldn't hurt to talk to Seifer."

Roxas smiled, crossing his arms, nodding. "You've really grown up, man. Next time you come out, you should bring Seifer with you. I really can't wait to see the new him."

Hayner blushed, scratching the back of his head and chuckling nervously. "Yeah, okay. And you've grown a lot, too, Rox. I'll see you sometime soon, hopefully."

"Yeah, later." They bumped fists over the counter and Hayner grabbed his bags, walking out of the shop.

Picking the book back up, mostly to distract himself, he went back to reading the confusing plot.

_'Okay, so now the main character is having a love affair with his best friend's sister…and the dad's found out…hmmm…whoa plot twist!'_ And he was caught up in the storyline again.

It was an extremely slow day, seeing as the colleges were letting out for the summer—even Sora was going on break that week—so his reading was mostly uninterrupted until the last customer of his shift showed up.

Lifting his head at hearing the soft knocking on the counter top, Roxas felt a distinct flutter in his chest at seeing Axel standing there, smiling, dirty from work, hair still pulled back in a ponytail, bangs pinned back. "Hey, cappuccino?"

As Roxas stood up to get the man his drink, Axel shook his head, chuckling. "I mean, you wanna go out for coffee after your shift? I need some friendly chatter before going home." He said with a smile.

Looking at the clock and realizing it really was almost time to go home, Roxas turned to nod with a smile. At that moment, his replacement walked in, giving her usual hyperactive wave before disappearing into the back room to drop her purse of.

"See ya later, Yuffie!" Roxas called as he grabbed his book and walked out with Axel, smiling softly as the taller man began talking about some idiot at work.

-oOoOoOo-

Cloud looked up from the book he was reading as the front door opened and Leon slipped in.

The blonde couldn't stifle his insane laughter as the brunette pulled his tie off and threw it to the floor with a huff, following up with kicking his dress shoes off. Picking one up, he glared at a scuff, fire shooting from his eyes. Dropping it, he grappled at pulling his belt off and threw that, too, to the floor.

After his little show at the front door, he stomped off into the kitchen, and the sounds of coffee-making ensued.

Cloud himself wore only a pair of his boxers and one of Leon's thin undershirts. The blonde found he actually quite liked wearing Leon's clothes and found every reason to slip some on. Today's excuse is that all his nightshirts were dirty.

Still laughing, Cloud stood up and walked over to the front door, picking the man's discarded clothing up and taking it all to the bedroom.

Apparently Leon worked Tuesdays at some restaurant that required all employees to dress nicely. That kind of attire was just too stiff for Leon, and that's why he only works Tuesday evenings.

When the brunette had changed into the outfit eight hours prior, Cloud had jokingly called it "the sexiest thing he's ever seen" and was rewarded with the other man storming out of the apartment with little more than a "see you at ten."

Cloud returned to the living room, smiling down at Leon, who was stretched across half of the couch with his shirt partly unbuttoned, and sat down on the coffee table. "How was work?" He asked, smirking when Leon opened his eyes in a glare.

"Fine." He hissed out bitterly. "City brats are in town, it seems. The whole lot of them were just the most annoying little bitches. Complained about everything and left without giving me a tip." Closing his eyes, Leon sighed. "I really hate this time of year. All the city people come out here because it's so close to the ocean, the college brats are out for the summer, and the snowbirds, oh god the snowbirds."

Cloud chuckled, shaking his head. "You bitch like a snowbird." (A/N: THEY BITCH LIKE NO OTHER!! I'm not even kidding…that's what sucks about living in t3h AZ…the god damned SNOWBIRDS.)

Leon's eyes flashed open, narrowing dangerously, but also with amusement. "Why do you have to be in such a good mood?"

"You'd rather me not be in a good mood?" The blonde asked, raising an eyebrow.

Chuckling, the brunette shook his head, eyes fluttering shut.

Cloud tilted his head, pursing his lips slightly. "Tired?"

Leon shook his head, sighing. "Not really." He shrugged, lifting his head to look right at Cloud. "What's up?"

The blonde shrugged, looking away with a soft smile. "Just…being concerned. Sephiroth never gave me that privilege." Cloud was impressed. It had only been a few days since he first talked about Sephiroth to Leon and now he only felt a small tremor of fear at the man's name. "He always kept everything bottled up. That's most likely why he's so angry."

Leon raised an eyebrow as he sat up straight.

Cloud chuckled, looking down at his hands, clasping them in his lap. "There was only one time when I had to comfort him. He had gotten so angry…he had hit me, it was the first time, I think. Kadaj jumped up to grab him." Cloud sighed, letting his eyes fall shut. "As soon as Sephiroth turned on his brother, his youngest brother, I grabbed his arm and he just turned and wailed on me."

Leon snarled quietly, but otherwise let Cloud continue.

The blonde shrug. "When he came back to his senses…he sat there and just cried. Yazoo and Loz were left to take care of me while Kadaj took care of Seph. Later, after everything calmed down, I talked to Seph." Then Cloud burst out laughing, throwing his head back. "He actually told me to leave, that it was for my own good. He told me I wasn't safe with him. And guess what I said."

The brunette raised an eyebrow. "I love you, we'll work through this, I forgive you?"

Cloud smirked, nodding slightly. "Yeah, and look where that's gotten me. Two years later, I'm hiding with my cousins." The blonde looked up at Leon and smiled brightly. "I don't really mind though."

He wanted to say so much more, so many overused phrases, but his pride keeping him from doing so. But they were all true. The blonde was the happiest he's been since he was sixteen, and probably most of that is thanks to Leon.

Cloud reached across the distance between them and grabbed the brunette's hand, pulling him forward slightly. Leon lifted his free hand to run his fingers through Cloud's hair, closing the rest of the space between them.

Their lips met in a soft caress, two pairs of blue eyes fluttering shut, their joined hands lacing their fingers together. Cloud's free hand moved up Leon's chest to curve along the side of his neck, just below his ear, fingers playing in the hairline right there.

Sighing, Leon slipped his hand down Cloud's back, his arm moving to rest around the blonde's waist, and pulled him off of the coffee table and onto the couch. Both men opened their mouths, their tongues moving to brush across each other intimately, eliciting soft moans.

They pulled their hands apart and Cloud's now free hand went to Leon's hair immediately as he straddled the man's lap. Leon's hand stroked the blonde's thigh softly, compassionately, as he let his head fall back from the kiss.

The two male's stared at each other, both panting softly. Cloud smirked and swooped down to attack the man's neck, his usual weak spot, and grinned at feeling Leon's throat muscles move under his lip's ministrations.

Moving slender fingers down Leon's chest, he slowly began unbuttoning the shirt the rest of the way, nibbling at his salty skin, fully enjoying his moans every time Cloud found a good spot.

As Leon's shirt fell open, the blonde ran his hands up the man's smooth, bare skin, both index fingers stopping at the man's nipples.

Cloud loved the sound the other male made when a pleasurable caress surprised him, it was this strange, broken gasp, followed by a soft vocalization, something akin to a whine. It was so unusual to Cloud to have a vocal partner. Sephiroth had been almost silent, until he was climaxing, then he'd release only one low moan that resembled something more like a growl.

Circling his lover's nipples once, and with one soft kiss to Leon's partly open mouth, the blonde stood up, grinning down at his obviously aroused lover.

"Dammit, Cloud…" Leon gasped, eyes fluttering closed as he worked to swallow. "You'd better get your ass back down here and finish what you started."

Chuckling, Cloud put his hands on his hips. "I was hoping we could finish this back in the room."

As Leon opened his eyes again, Cloud winked and walked down the small hallway to their bedroom, chuckling as the bedroom door slammed shut behind him.

**TBC**

_And there we have it! The next chapter! Really short, yes…but the next chapter is when all the action starts! Yeah! Woohoo!_

_I'm not even kidding, the twists will start up in the next chapter. At least two twists will happen. -:grins:- I can't wait._

_And the book in the last chapter is **Twilight **by Stephenie Meyer._

_Now anyone who can guess what book he's reading in this chapter is epic times twenty! I'm not even kidding!_

_So, yeah! **Thanks go to** Loz, Zoa, MyDaroga, Spinner2009, fullmetal naruto girl, Taylor, Takika, Sansoris, Padfoot, Silver, FallenPooka, PaopuTheif, Monkey-gurl, YaoiLover, Juukai, A Hannar Darkly, UmSophie,** and** Guzophela**!**_

_And of course the usual! Shallex, Ania, my sister, and most likely my Seme Seductor who doesn't review on here._

_So, yeah!_

_Read, love, review, repeat!_

_Number, kupo,  
Aggie B._


	11. Makes Me Wonder

_Woo update?_

_Onwards!_

**Chapter 11  
Makes Me Wonder**

"Hey Nami?" Roxas said softly, eyeing his sleeping brother on the couch, Riku's equally unconscious form sprawled across the brunette's legs.

_"Hey, Roxas! What's up? We haven't talked in a while!"_ Her cheery reply came, a sound that Roxas missed, surprisingly.

It had been almost two weeks since the last time they saw each other, both busy with their own lives. The last time they saw each other, Roxas just realized, was the dinner party when Pence outted Hayner in front of everybody.

That reminded Roxas, he had to call Hayner back.

"Um, you busy this afternoon?"

The woman chuckled. _"I was going to do some sketches because a big art convention's coming up, but I'm lacking inspiration. Why? You want to hang out? Kairi and I could use some testosterone around the apartment."_

Roxas laughed loudly before clapping his hand over his mouth, sighing. "Well good, because Axel got off work early to pick up Larxene, but her flight is coming in late. He has time to go over and maybe do some modeling?" Roxas asked tentatively, finally glancing at the redhead leaning against the doorframe.

Axel was staring at Riku and Sora, green eyes amused, as he played with an elastic band between his slender fingers.

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

"Namine?" The blonde asked, concerned that the phone disconnected.

_"Are you serious?"_ She asked, voice quiet, barely loud enough for Roxas to hear.

"Is that okay with you?"

_"Okay?! OKAY?! It's more than okay! You coming over now? Good! See you in fifteen minutes!"_

Then there was nothing but dial tone for Roxas to listen to. Sighing, he looked over at Axel with a smirk. "It's okay to drop in on her."

Axel smirked and tossed some hair over his shoulder before turning around to the door. "I'll meet you at the car."

With that he left Roxas alone in the apartment.

Over the passed two weeks, Roxas and Axel had become pretty close, considering the short amount of time they'd known each other. Every night after they both got off work, they'd go and grab a coffee and either sit and stare at each other comfortably, or chat.

Even after Larxene had left the weekend before, only to go home to grab more of her belongings to come back out and live more permanently with Axel and Riku, the redhead and Roxas would go for their coffees. Axel _always_ got a cappuccino. Nothing added, nothing taken away. A venti cappuccino. Only _once_ did he ask for no whipped cream, but that was only because he wasn't feeling well.

But as they would just stare at each other, Roxas could just see the beauty Namine would soon exaggerate perfectly in her drawing of Axel, he could see how she would bring out the prominent cheekbones, the sharp jaw, the perfect hairline. Would she keep the tattoos? Of course, they only _added_ to this man's perfection. And his eyes, Roxas could see Namine drawing those eyes, that dangerous shade of green surrounding pinpoint pupils, in many more drawings than just of Axel.

Soon, though, Roxas began to feel confused. He didn't even know what really started this confusion, but he was steadily becoming angrier. He couldn't connect what made that feeling of anger bubble up from the depth of his heart to a solid stimulus. It seemed almost at random as Axel chattered away to him. Just suddenly, a rage would slowly build up a storm in his chest, jealousy gnawing at his insides, hate oozing from his body, but none of this was directed at the redhead. He knew this.

Roxas could never hate Axel.

Leaning over the back of the couch, he shook Sora awake lightly, smirking as the brunette slowly awoke. "Hey Sora, I'm going out for the afternoon."

Sora blinked, confused, muttering wordlessly. "Don't you have work?" He finally asked, rubbing his eyes adorably, trying to wake himself up more.

"Yuffie wanted extra hours, so she came in and took over my shift. Axel and I are going to Namine's apartment. Later." Roxas walked over to the door and stopped when he heard Sora whine.

"Why can't I move my legs?" The brunette mumbled, struggling weakly in Riku's grip, pulling a laughing from Roxas.

"That would be because our neighbor has decided your thighs make awesome pillows." And with that, Roxas walked out the front door, giggling as his brother gasped loudly.

-oOoOoOo-

"Riku and your brother are cute together." Axel remarked as Roxas led him into the apartment building, chuckling softly.

Roxas laughed and hit the 'up' button on the elevator, nodding as he looked over at Axel. "Yup."

As they stepped into the elevator, the redhead looked down at Roxas. "So when're you going to get yourself a girl? That Yuffie chick at your work is cute."

The blonde snorted and looked up at Axel. "You are so obviously a noob, it's painful, Ax." Roxas took dangerous pleasure in saying the little nickname he gave his friend.

"Don't be a jackass."

The blonde shook his head, chuckling. "She's dating a guy that can kick Chuck Norris' ass just by looking at him. I would never make a move on her, as cute as she is."

Axel hummed and tapped his chin thoughtfully. "How about the chick with the giant jugs that works the front desk?"

_(A/N: Okay, I'm listening to my playlist…and you guys have to look up Vergessene Kinder by Tokio Hotel. It's amazing.)_

Now Roxas burst out laughing clutching his middle. "Tifa?!" He cried as he sobered a bit. "Dude, she's Cloud's age, for one. Secondly, chicks with boobs like her don't look at kids like me, once again going to the age thing. Thirdly, she could kick my ass with just thinking about me. She's been learning martial arts since she started walking."

"Chicken." Axel muttered, snorting slightly. "Why don't you ask Namine back out? I'm sure she'd start seeing you again."

Roxas sighed, leaning against the metal wall, shrugging. "I think…we had our time together. It's time for both of us to move on, you know?"

Axel shrugged, hands in his pockets as he smirked. "Maybe. Maybe not." Then he groaned, letting his head fall back against the wall. "How slow is this elevator?"

"Just two more floors, be patient." Roxas muttered, closing his eyes as the elevator suddenly slowed down, causing the funny weightless feeling in his stomach. It had been a while since he went to Namine's place, and even longer since he last saw Kairi. This should be interesting.

The doors opened and Roxas led the way down the hall, stopping at a white door, the paint just beginning to chip. The carpet on the floor was beige, it's tattered look suggesting it was a few years old, but it still looked nice.

With only one knock on the door, it flew open, wide violet eyes staring out at them. Red hair pulled back into a sloppy ponytail and bright yellow rubber gloves up to her elbows, Kairi looked exactly like the little house wife she sometimes tended to be.

Her eyes went from Roxas to Axel and they lit up. She ripped off her gloves, threw them over her shoulder and grabbed the front of Axel's shirt, pulling him forward. "Namine, he's absolutely perfect!" She shrieked, her other hand shooting out to grab Roxas. "C'mon, Blondie!"

The door slammed behind Roxas and he barely had time to recover before Namine came flying into the entrance from the hallway, armed with her sketchpad and a few pencils. "Lets go to the living room." She said, surprisingly calm despite her slightly winded look.

Roxas and Axel were dragged into the living room by Kairi, both briefly glancing at the pile of dishes Kairi was apparently in the middle of washing stacked up on the counter. The soap suds in the sink had diminished already, betraying that she had literally dropped what she was doing to help prepare her friend for their coming guests.

"Um." Namine murmured thoughtfully, tapping her bottom lip with a pencil. "We're just going to do a few sketches, nothing too big today. I don't think you have that kind of time."

Axel looked at his watch and shook his head. "Nope. Larxene will be calling in the next couple hours."

Suddenly, both girls looked at Roxas, a knowing look filling their eyes. The blonde had no idea _why_ they were looking at him, and Axel was looking around, oblivious to the telepathic conversation going on between the two female's in the room.

"Okay! Sit on the couch." Namine cried, snapping out of the weird stupor she went into, sitting down on the stool opposite the white couch.

"No stripping?" Axel asked timidly, slowly sitting down, glancing nervously at Kairi, who had begun circling the couch like a vulture.

"Only unless you want to." Namine murmured, opening her sketchpad.

"Rox just warned me you might want me...I'm not even finishing that sentence." Axel laughed, glancing at Roxas.

Once again, Namine and Kairi glanced at the male blonde, smirking, before going back to their current job at hand.

Now Roxas was getting annoyed.

"Hey, Roxy?" Namine asked, her eyes never leaving her sketchpad. "Why don't you have a seat?"

Roxas looked to the lazy boy in the corner, just to see Kairi sitting cross-legged in it, smiling sweetly. He glared; Namine was up to something, and he didn't like it at all.

Axel scooted over on the loveseat, making room for the blonde to flop down. The redhead smirked slightly over at Roxas, lacing his fingers together behind his head and closing his eyes. "Why so tense, Rox?"

Roxas glared at Kairi, then Namine, before looking back at Axel. "You don't know these two." He grumbled, turning his blue eyes to watch Namine's pencil fly furiously around the page.

"Suck it up princess and sit there." Kairi growled, suddenly cradling a bowl of popcorn in her lap and holding a book.

"Yeah." Axel muttered, looking over at Roxas. "Princess."

Roxas snarled non-too-playfully at Axel.

"Calm down, Roxas." Namine murmured, slightly amused. "I'm not doing anything._ I promise_."

Roxas sighed, calmed with her promise. If she ever said that, she meant it. He leaned back in the couch, relaxing while Axel sat next to him comfortably, humming softly.

-oOoOoOo-

"Please, Riku!" Sora begged, pulling at the silveret's shirt and hair, throwing his head back and panting. "Let go!" _(A/N: getcher head outta the gutter people! El oh el!)_

Riku pouted into Sora's thigh, chuckling as Sora released another pathetically cute whimper, finally falling still as his limbs grew too tired to fight anymore. Sighing, Riku let his eyes close. "I think I like this position too much to get up, darling."

Sora turned his head to look at the TV, blushing and pouting, with a huff. "We have to leave soon anyway." Sora grumped, his hand unconsciously moving to pet the other male's hair. His fingernails scratched lightly at Riku's scalp, eliciting purrs and moans from the older male.

The brunette sighed, content, as Riku's breaths fanned across and heated his jeaned thigh, a gasp getting caught in his throat as one of Riku's hands, which rested on his hip, slowly slipped down to cup his bottom. Sora tugged Riku's hair lightly, gasping and closing his eyes as Riku kneaded the curved cheek in his hand.

The silveret rested his lips against Sora's thigh as he slowly slipped up the other male's body, suddenly eye level with the brunette's hips.

And that was when Sora's senses finally caught up and sat bolt upright, pulling his legs free from Riku's grip. "We have to leave soon." He said quickly, laughing nervously as he pushed some chocolate locks from out of his sweaty face, eyes looking everywhere else, anywhere else but the hurt look that rested on the man he lo—Sora clenched his eyes shut angrily, his nervous chortles turning to something bitter.

_He. Was. Not. Gay!_

"Do you hate me, Sora?"

Sora whipped around, shaking his head violently. "Wha—no! I don't hate you, Riku!" The brunette hurried over to the silveret, whose face was now one of indifference. "I love you, Riku!"

Both pairs of eyes widened. Well, four pairs of eyes, because that was the moment Demyx and Zexion walked in the apartment.

Riku looked about to say something, his eyes lighting up in a way Sora had never seen before, and it terrified Sora. He couldn't handle that happiness he saw in those wide green eyes, thinking that he couldn't possibly feed that.

"Not like that, I mean!" Sora said with fake cheer. "I mean, I love you like a friend! I mean, I can't really love you! I mean, I'm straight!"

The light was gone, and Sora just wanted to die as he stood. He looked at Zexion and Demyx, wincing as they both sent him disgusted looks.

"We should go." Sora muttered miserably, grabbing his keys off the coffee table and moving towards the door, looking back at Riku to see if he was following.

There was a flame of anger dancing behind his eyes, but it was almost smothered by the dejection, the self-loathing. Sora wanted to be slaughtered brutally for his idiocy.

The ten minute drive was done in silence. Sora was too distracted to even turn on the radio. How could he have been so stupid to lead Riku on? Riku was weak right now, no matter how much strength he had gained in the past two weeks. He was still fragile, still so fucking weak, and Sora had to go take advantage of it for what? A couple minutes of pleasure?

Friends don't do that. Riku might as well go back the drugs.

Sora almost crashed his car as he cringed from that particular thought, immediately beating himself up mentally while offering a half-hearted apology to Riku for the small scare.

It doesn't matter how much of a jerk Sora was, he knew that Riku should never do those drugs again. That would only make him weaker against others trying to take advantage of him.

But that didn't excuse Sora from his actions earlier.

He needed a girlfriend, both to vent this pent up sexual energy and to prove once and for all that he was straight. Whether it was to himself, Riku, or everyone else, Sora didn't know, nor did he care.

He stopped in a parking space, and looked up at the building, waiting for Riku to get out.

When Riku just sat there, staring at Sora—Sora could see him looking from the corners of his eyes—the brunette finally broke down, running his hands back through his hair and leaning back against the seat. "Look, Riku, I'm really sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have taken advantage—"

"Fuck this." Riku growled, gaining Sora's full attention. Sora whorled his head around to stare at Riku's frustrated face. "Fuck. This." The silveret repeated, leaning closer to Sora slowly. "I'm sick of pretending I'm just a needy druggie in withdrawals just to get close to _you_. Don't get me wrong, I am, but I don't need to crawl into a bed with someone and cry with them."

Riku grabbed the front of the brunette's shirt, pulling a squeak from Sora. "Riku—"

"Shut up, Sora! I'm _talking_, damn you!" Riku bellowed, terrifying the brunette into silence. The silveret huffed before continuing. "I'm sick of pretending that I don't 'love you like that'! I'm just _done_, Sora!"

And then the brunette was pulled into a bruising kiss, his head pushed back harshly, his tears being shaken free from his eyelids.

His mind screamed for this to stop. He didn't want to kiss Riku when he was angry, he didn't want Riku to be hurting so much while sharing something that should be tender, and loving, and gentle. This hurt, this was angry, this was terrifying.

But his body wanted it to keep going. His tongue immediately moved to the back of his lips, ready to push out when Riku offered his. Sora's small hands spread across Riku's chest, ready to grip that material when needed.

But before the brunette could show a proper response, Riku pushed him away a fraction, panting angrily in Sora's face.

"I _love_ you, Sora. And yes. _Like that_." With one last kiss, the silver haired man shoved Sora away so hard, the back of his head hit his window hard enough that he saw stares.

Crying out in pain, Sora shut his eyes and grabbed the back of his head, missing his chance to call Riku back into the car. Riku had already slammed the door shut and stomped into the building when Sora regained proper vision.

But only for a second, because it was suddenly blurred with salty tears.

Sora wanted to die a horrible, painful, bloody death in a fiery car accident. Maybe if his tears kept up, he would.

**-The Next Day-**

"Riku did something to Sora."

Axel looked up from the music magazine spread out on top of the wedding catalogue, his lips tight around a red straw, slurping loudly at the small drops of iced tea left.

_'He usually gets a cappuccino…'_ Roxas noted curiously before pulling his mind back to the present.

"Uh…no he din'n." Axel mumbled around his straw, and eyebrow arched high on his forehead.

Roxas raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips, unimpressed. "Uh, yes, he did. When I got home from Namine's, he was crying in his room."

"And you didn't do something?" Axel asked, finally accepting that he wasn't going to get anything out of his iced tea.

"I wasn't even home, jackass." Roxas growled, pouting.

"Okay, what about Cloud?" The redhead suggested, leaning back and crossing his arms. "He's a pretty frigid bitch."

"Frigid, yes." Roxas consented. "But not cruel. He'd probably be willing to make _me_ cry, but never Sora."

As Axel's mouth opened, Roxas glared. "If you so much as _suggest_ Demyx, I might just have to institutionalize you for severe mental illness."

Axel chuckled and leaned back in his seat, flipping a page in his magazine. "It wasn't Riku."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Cuz Riku's in love with your brother. Head over heels in love." Axel said in a tone like it explained all of life's wonders. "As in more than pounding some meat into some ass."

"You're so disgustingly crude sometimes, I got the picture before you added some gross mental image of my brother getting pounded." Roxas groaned, covering his eyes, whimpering a bit.

"Oh, suck it up." Axel muttered. "What could Riku have possibly done that would hurt your brother?"

Roxas crossed his arms, snorting. "Sora has a pretty huge pride, and he's in deep denial that he's straight. So basically being gay to him will send him in a fit."

Axel looked up, amused. "Then he should've gone into a fit a long time ago. I mean, Riku is crazy about the brat. Never shuts up about Sora when he rarely talks to Larxene or me."

Roxas nodded slowly. "Has Riku talked about him since yesterday?"

The redhead thought for a second before sighing heavily. "Okay, maybe Riku did do something. What are we going to do about it?"

The blonde shrugged. "I could talk to Sora and you could send Riku over?"

Axel sighed, rubbing his eyes, his gorgeous green eyes, and shrugged. "Okay. I can't stand an emo Riku anyway, so it's best we get this over with. Larxene is probably ready to kill the kid. Speaking of Riku, I have to go pick him up now."

Roxas was confused. "From where?"

"Group therapy." The redhead sighed sadly. "I guess Sora used to give him a ride. There really is something really going down between them."

They both stood and exited the café, stopping at Axel's car.

"I'll just walk home." Roxas offered, turning away from Axel.

The man's slender hand wrapped around the blonde's bicep and held him back. Roxas turned, only to have Axel's face only an inch from his, his warm breath, cold only slightly from his iced tea, brushing across his lips.

"Be careful, Rox." The redhead whispered, green eyes darting across the blonde's face, analyzing his face from up close.

Nodding minutely, Roxas swallowed hard, leaning forward slightly, only slightly, before wrenching back. Axel had also pulled away at that same moment, a light blush dusting his cheeks.

Roxas' face, however, was on _fire_.

"I'll see you later once Riku and Sora kiss and make up." Axel said jokingly before slipping into his car and driving off.

-oOoOoOo-

Roxas stood in the doorway to the kitchen with Demyx, watching Sora scrub at a clean plate. He'd been doing that since Roxas got home, and apparently had been doing that since three. Since three when Riku didn't show up for a ride to group therapy.

"I'm home, Sora." Roxas said for the third time, again not responding. Groaning, Roxas covered his eyes with his palms. There was only one thing on his brother's mind. "We found Riku dead in a ditch, Sora."

"_DON'T EVEN JOKE LIKE THAT, ROXAS_!" Sora shrieked only a split second later, whipping around and throwing the plate. It shattered against the wall next to Demyx's head. Screaming, Demyx backed away from the doorway, curling into himself.

"Dammit, Sora." Roxas hissed, turning to Demyx and wrapping his arms around the shaking teen.

Demyx pulled away from Roxas instantly, letting loose a shaky sob. "I-I'll be in my room." He whispered, turning to walk down the hall.

When all was silent except for Sora's angry pants, Roxas turned back to his brother. "So I guess you've been thinking that all afternoon?"

Sora glared. "He wasn't there when I went to pick him up. He didn't come over today. He hasn't called. What was I _supposed_ to think?" The brunette hissed, eyes narrowing even more.

"That, perhaps, just maybe, Axel gave him a ride?" Roxas asked, eyebrow raised. "Damn, Sora, you're so dramatic." He muttered as Sora's eyes widened at the realization. "Now what did Riku _do_?"

Sora looked away, eyes tearing up now. "He didn't do anything."

Roxas heard their front door open and he glanced over his shoulder to see Axel poking his head around the corner, shaking his head. Riku was apparently refusing to come in.

The blonde looked back at his brother, sighing. "Then what happened?"

Sora shrugged, looking at the floor as he shrugged, closing his eyes. "I'm just a giant fuck up of a friend—"

"For god's sake, Sora! Do you want help or a fucking pity party?" Roxas cried, putting his hands on his hips. "Damn, Sora, if I knew you'd be so fucking difficult, I'd've left to you to wallow in your self-loathing."

"_I'm_ difficult?! What about _you_?" Sora lashed out, trying to get the attention off of himself.

"This isn't about me, Sora! This is about_ you_." Roxas countered, crossing his arms tightly over his chest. "_What. Happened_."

The brunette wiped tears from his eyes as he looked at the floor, choking on a sob. "He kissed me." Sora whispered, clenching his eyes shut.

Roxas raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Let me guess, you pushed him away?"

"That's just it. He pushed me away!" Sora cried, balling his hands into fists angrily. "Because he was so _angry_ with how much of a _fuck up_ I am! I led him on, I took advantage of him because he paid attention to me, took pride in being the _only_ person he could go to, and now he hates me!"

"Sora, I doubt—"

"And now he might do something stupid! And it will be all my fault!" Sora interrupted, bringing his hands up to grab tight handfuls of cinnamon hair.

Roxas watched his brother sob, his heart wrenching painfully at the sight. Sighing, he took a step forward. "Did you…did you want him to kiss you?"

The brunette cringed slightly, screwing his face up as he tried to stop sobbing enough to at least answer his brother. "I di-didn't w-wa-want 'im to kiss me…like that." He whispered finally. "But I did want him to kiss me." He admitted slowly, looking up at Roxas.

Roxas was about to say something to his brother when Sora's eyes widened a considerable amount. "Sora…?" Roxas questioned, noticing that the older male was looking at a point _beyond_ him, and slowly turned to see Riku standing there, tears glinting in his aquamarine eyes.

"Dammit, guys? Why is everything so dramatic like some kind of half-assed chick flick with you guys?!" Roxas cried, flailing his arms around slightly before Riku shoved him aside none-too-lightly.

Sora stepped away as the silveret drew closer to him, shaking with fear now as it gripped at him.

Riku paused, looking at Roxas, then at Sora, sighing slightly. "We need to talk. Alone. Your room?"

The brunette nodded mutely and led the other man out of the kitchen, down the hall, and into his bedroom.

Closing the door behind himself, Riku looked at Sora, sighing sadly. "I shouldn't've…done that to you yesterday. I'm sorry."

Sora just raised an eyebrow slightly, tears still streaking down his face. "But I screwed up. I deserved what you did—"

"No one deserves to be ditched like that." Riku said sternly, stepping towards Sora. "I shouldn't have gotten angry with you like that. I…I just…" Closing his eyes, Riku thought out his next words carefully. "It's just that, without the…the drugs, my patience just…goes down."

"But I led you on." Sora murmured, looking at the floor.

"Well, I followed, didn't I?" Riku replied pathetically, sighing. "Sora, did you…did you really mean it when you said…you wanted me to kiss you?"

Blushing slightly and wiping the tears from his face, Sora nodded, laughing hollowly to himself. "I'm so confused."

Riku stepped forward again, the room being small enough that this small movement brought him much closer to the brunette. "About what?"

"You…myself…I just…" Sora looked up at Riku, the flow of tears ending at seeing the minute smirk on the silveret's lips. "I just don't know anymore."

Riku smiled, reaching up to wipe some moisture from Sora's cheek, wrapping his other arm around the brunette's waist. "I'm sorry, still." He whispered, face coming closer to Sora's.

"I'm sorry, too." Sora replied, a smile slowly creeping up on his face.

"Would it…be okay if I kissed you again, Sora?" Riku asked timidly, backing away slightly.

Nodding, Sora reached up and pulled the silveret's lips to his in a tender lip lock, fully enjoying the feeling of Riku's soft flesh on his.

He'd figure everything out later.

**TBC**

_Yeah there was going to be more…but I decided this would be almost completely a "Sora and Riku" conflict._

_Next chapter…you'll just have to wait to find out!_

_And the book that Roxas was reading in the last chapter was Shadow of the Wind. Awesome book, I give it two severed thumbs up. (If anyone knows that allusion, you're way badass!)_

_Anyway, I guess…read, love, review, repeat!_

_Number, kupo,  
Aggie B._


	12. Lions Roar

_Okay, so I just realized I'm a horrible bitch for forgetting to thank everybody for reviewing the last chapter!_

_Thanks go to Suna's assassin, Ally, Silver, fullmetal naruto girl, Kitty-Cat-Kauri, Loz, Padfoot, Becca-Blossom, Zoa, Takika, and FallenPooka! Thanks for reviewing the last chapter! I really am sorry for forgetting to say thank you to you all!_

_Okies, onwards?_

**Chapter 12  
Lions Roar** _(I gotta say this now…that song rocks like no other…The Hush Sound FTW!!)_

Roxas, Zexion, and Axel trudged down the street, all three tired from their days.

For Roxas, the gift shop was overrun as there was a book sale going on, so he hadn't a break in crowd traffic all day. He actually had to call Yuffie to come in early and Tifa eventually took pity on them and joined. The front desk never had traffic, so Roxas didn't know why it took her so fucking long to care.

For Zexion, and idiotic thirteen-year-old boy somehow managed to knock down several bookshelves in the young adult section and Zexion just happened to be assigned to that part of the library. The kid somehow shifted the blame on the library, his mother diving in say that the bookshelves were unstable and had even injured her golden child. Apparently, there's a lawsuit pending. The short man was not pleased in the slightest.

Axel, well Axel works construction and the higher ups have decided they could get their current project, a new apartment complex in the beach district, done in three months. For the past month, Axel's team had been working at a pace that suggested they had about six months. Now they were working overtime and, much to Larxene's displeasure, their wedding date had to be pushed back. Axel was counting on more vacation time, but with this schedule change, he was lucky to have Sundays off.

All three, exhausted and just needing time to unwind, went to the café together and sat in lazy silence, each sipping at something caffeinated. Zexion, who was usually opposed to caffeine (he argued that Demyx had enough caffeine-like behavior to supply the entire universe. No one argued that.) was now downing is second triple shot espresso. He would've gone for a third, but the employees actually expressed some concern and cut him off. They knew a lightweight when they saw one.

Roxas and Axel, however, were free to order all seven of their drinks…each. In fact, the employees behind the counter didn't hide their shock when the two left without buying at least two more drinks. Like their lightweight spotting senses, they also knew when there 'holics had a bad day.

But Roxas was annoyed, and not even about work anymore. Work was work, he'd been anticipating the book sale since big-fat-mister-boss-man told Roxas about it Monday. What was his boss' name anyway? He'd have to ask Sora when he got home.

He was annoyed because Zexion had been watching him the entire time at the café, giving Roxas that same, dumb, absolutely irritating, knowing look. The same one that Namine and Kairi had worn only two days ago. He was borderline pissed now.

They finally reached the apartment complex, slipping silently past Demyx's steps just in case, by some random act of God, Demyx's father was sober enough to get up and look out the front door at any strange noises, possibly hoping it was his son, missing for over two weeks, finally returned home. Roxas knew, deep down, that if his dad just got off the alcohol, Demyx would be in a home where he was loved, cherished, and treated with the kind of respect a child should receive from his father.

But Roxas knew not to hope for so much, so he never mentioned it.

"Hey there, stranger." He honey-sweet, feminine voice said from the landing.

Roxas wanted to gag at hearing the cliché beyond cliché phrase and looked up at the blonde woman. She was dressed in tight jeans and an off-the-shoulder sweater, her feet bare, her hair in it's usual antennae. She smiled sweetly, white teeth glittering in the yellow deck light.

Axel's eyes lit up slightly and he hurried on ahead, climbing the steps quickly. Wrapping his arms around the woman's slender waist, their lips coming together passionately.

Roxas glowered, looking at his feet as he moved up the stairs, feeling Zexion looking at him again. Roxas felt he was going to have to address this whole "knowing look" issue before it got way out of hand.

Finally, once Roxas and Zexion reached the top of the steps, the happy couple pulled apart.

"We should finish this inside." Larxene giggled, pressing her body against Axel's.

Axel sighed sadly. "Sorry, babe. I'm so extremely tired, I'm about to drop." At Larxene's slight pout, Axel leaned closer. "Tomorrow night, got it memorized?"

Smirking, she nodded, capturing his lips in another heated kiss.

Roxas opened his apartment door and looked back at the making out couple. "See you later, Axel." Roxas said before shutting the door behind himself.

"Zexy!" Demyx cried from the couch. Zexion slowly sauntered over, flopping ungracefully next to Demyx.

Roxas sniffed the air, smirking. Something smelt good. Which meant Sora was in a good mood. Which meant baking brownies.

And that was exactly how the blonde found his older brother, smiling and humming, mixing a giant bowl of brownie mix. He was definitely back to normal, Roxas happily noted, for once not even a little bit annoyed with the brunette's cheerfulness.

"So how are things with Riku?"

Sora looked over at his brother, grinning while blushing. "Fine. We're going slow. We only slept on the couch today before we went to his group therapy."

"Slow as in…?" Roxas asked, leaning against the counter, arms crossed.

"Slow as in not having sex for a while. Limiting it to kissing. I'm still a bit too confused for anything more." Sora explained, scooping the giant brown blob out of the bowl onto the pan.

Just then, a hyper Demyx danced into the room, eyeing the spoon. "Can I lick the spoon? Please, Sora? Please? Please? Please? Prettypleasewithacherryontop!"

"Here!" Sora shoved the spoon in Demyx's direction, hissing in a bit of pain as the teens nails scratched him as he snatched the spoon away.

Shoving the spoon into his mouth, Demyx's pink tongue moved around, licking and slurping at it provocatively with the two brothers standing and staring.

Swallowing hard, Roxas barely noticed Zexion step into the doorway of the kitchen. "Geez, Demyx. It's a spoon, not Zexion's dick. Stop giving it a blow job."

Zexion gasped, eyes dilating with need, glazing over. As Demyx giggled around the spoon, he heard the small noise the small man let out and turned to stare wide-eyed at his boyfriend.

Suddenly, the shorter man grabbed Demyx's wrist and began dragging him out of the room and down the small hall.

"Zez'uhn?" The brothers heard Demyx question before the bedroom door slammed shut and there was a startled squeak from the young teen.

Sora and Roxas looked at each other, eyes widening as they heard gasps, pants, and whines. Then, rather quickly actually, the real noise began.

In a mad rush to get out of the apartment, Roxas didn't even think about getting his shoes. Rather pathetically, though, Sora had grabbed the pan with the brownie mix in it.

Hurrying across the landing after slamming their door shut, they pounded on Riku's door, groaning as they could faintly hear the noise from outside. The three occupants in Riku's apartment must be suffering as well. Roxas took a moment to wonder, amused, if Cloud and Leon could hear the couple's…joy.

The door opened, a very startled looking Larxene standing there, her eyebrow raised.

"Can we spend the night?" Sora begged, still holding his yet-to-be-baked brownies. "I'll make brownies!"

Larxene pursed her lips before shrugging. "Sure. We can watch movies to try and drown the bunnies out."

-oOoOoOo-

Axel found himself in quite the unpleasant position.

He had a fever, he usually did when he didn't sleep well. And honestly, it wasn't his fault. He kept sex with Larxene to a minimum so he could get to bed. He took naps during his lunch breaks. He didn't stay up real late.

But obviously his subconscious wasn't too impressed with the lack of bed action Axel had going on.

Every night Axel woke up, panting, sweating, and completely turned on by some incoherent wet dream of his fiancée. Even on the nights he did indulge himself and make love to her, she still haunted his dreams.

It was always just flashes. Heat, so much heat he could sense. Moans, throaty moans, his own because for some reason, he was always the more vocal one. And all that golden blonde hair. That hair that he could fist his fingers into while he plundered a pliant, sweet mouth, as he thrust almost violently, yet lovingly.

Oh yes, every night he woke up, hot and bothered, from that particular dream.

So he hadn't been sleeping well on top of his rigorous work schedule, so he had a fever.

He found that the plaster on the wall at the head of his bed was usually really cool, so he laid down on his stomach, pressing his forehead against the nice, cool, wall.

He was beginning to doze off when a squeak was heard from trough the wall. Opening his eyes, Axel stared at the wall, an eyebrow raising. That was definitely a Demyx squeak.

And now that was definitely a Demyx moan.

So here he was, forehead against the paper-thin wall that separated him from a pedophile who was, apparently, screwing his young boyfriend into the mattress. Quite merrily, actually.

Awesome.

Out in the living room, he could hear pounding on the front door and the Strife brothers voices. Roxas was saying something to Larxene.

His groin shifted; the noises were getting to him, he thought unhappily.

Groaning, Axel pulled away from the wall, covering his eyes. Zexion was hyped up on caffeine and Demyx was always hyped up on breathing. This could go on for god knows how long.

Getting off the bed, he stumbled out of his room, joining Roxas, Sora, Riku and Larxene in the living room as they sat down to watch a movie.

"Do I smell brownies?" He asked, sniffing the air slightly.

-oOoOoOo-

"For the love of…can we turn this off?!" Larxene cried, ignoring her sleeping fiancé as she flailed her arms around. "God, she's pissing me off!"

Sora was clinging to Riku, tears on his cheeks. He never did like horror movies, or movies depressing like this one. Mankind was really fucked up, that was the moral of this story, it seemed.

Roxas was leaning against the couch at Axel's head, trying not to let his head fall back and wake the man up. He really needed his sleep. But the constant breaths on the back of his neck were really distracting. Almost too distracting. It was getting nearly impossible to watch the movie.

There was angry screaming on the TV screen, barely drowning Larxene's yelling. Sora had joined in, though he was considerably quieter and trying to stop crying.

There was a gunshot and the sounds on the TV grew silent, but Larxene just got louder. "YES! SHE'S DEAD! Take that you crazy bitch!" She giggled, clapping her hands.

Roxas was surprised that Axel hadn't woken up yet with all of his fiancée's screaming.

"Now get the fuck outta there!" Larxene was still yelling. Finally, Roxas realized why.

This was a quieter movie than they had thought it would be, so at every quiet part, they could hear the noises from next door. Demyx and Zexion had calmed down quite a bit, but Demyx was one vocal kid. Then again, he was a kid after all. Larxene was actually doing them all a favor with her yelling.

"Go, go, go!" Sora moaned, gripping Riku's arm tightly. "Run!"

"Forget the gun! Leave the gun!" Larxene was yelling over and over again, slapping her fiancé's calve. He was still fast asleep. They sat through the next few minutes in silence, finally. Even the noises next door had calmed down to near silence.

"Don't show inside the bus. Don't show inside the—no they showed inside the bus…" Sora moaned, burying his face into Riku's arm.

The silveret was amused by Sora's adorable cowardice. Wrenching his arm free, he wrapped it around the brunette's shoulders before turning his attention to the movie.

The final five minutes of the movie were spent with actually quite a lot of crying, mostly just Sora and Larxene, but Roxas also teared up and Riku was beginning to cry openly.

"He just…he just killed his own son!" Sora moaned quietly, bottom lip quivering.

Larxene nodded, wiping her eyes. "I'd want one of the monsters to eat me…"

"Watch, the mist clears…" Roxas murmured. "Then everything would've been in vain."

Almost as if on cue, army cars rolled onto the scene, the mist slowly going away, not even five minutes after the main character killed his son and the three other occupants in the car.

They all sat in shocked silence as the ending credits rolled on screen.

"Well that was probably the best movie I've ever seen." Roxas murmured, eyes wide.

"Yeah." Larxene agreed, standing up to turn the DVD player off. She stretched and turned around. "But I never want to see it again. I'm debating either eating a bullet or slitting my wrists."

"That movie was disgust—" Sora began.

A moan filled the room, right behind Roxas' head.

Going rigid, Roxas blushed, eyes darting to look at Sora who'd whipped around to look at the sleeping redhead.

"Aw!" Larxene cried as Axel moaned again, writhing slightly on the couch. "Axel's having a wet dream about me!" She stretched out over Axel, licking by his ear, giggling softly. "Aren't you lover?"

Another breathy moan, and Roxas was finding it hard to breathe, finding it hard to sit with his knees to his chest.

"Say my name, love." Larxene whispered, grinning ear to ear.

"Mmm…ah…" Axel was gasping slightly, mouth parted open. "Roxas!" He gasped loudly.

All eyes, excluding Axel's, turned to a certain blonde, who could feel the tears coming already.

**TBC!!**

_Happy 69 pages!_

_You have no idea how long I've been waiting to write this chapter! I am shaking! I was so excited that I finally got to this chapter, that I actually finished it in one sitting!_

_Really short, I know, but again. That was the best place to end this chapter! Woo!_

_Anyway, the movie they were watching? Sorta obvious. You can guess if you want._

_Thanks go to Leah, Genocide-bloodshed, fullmetal naruto girl, and Ghostly Green! Thanks for reviewing!_

_I know I didn't really give you much time to review the last chapter, but I was just too excited!_

_Read, love, review, repeat!_

_Number, kupo,  
Aggie B._


	13. Comatose

Wow guys

_Wow guys! The AkuRoku is starting to show up and NOW you review?! Wow, guys…just wow!_

_Lol, jay kay!_

_Anyway, I'll just get to what everyone is REALLY here for…_

**Chapter 13  
Comatose**

"_Aw!" Larxene cried as Axel moaned again, writhing slightly on the couch. "Axel's having a wet dream about me!" She stretched out over Axel, licking by his ear, giggling softly. "Aren't you lover?"_

_Another breathy moan, and Roxas was finding it hard to breathe, finding it hard to sit with his knees to his chest._

"_Say my name, love." Larxene whispered, grinning ear to ear._

"_Mmm…ah…" Axel was gasping slightly, mouth parted open. "Roxas!" He gasped loudly._

_All eyes, excluding Axel's, turned to a certain blonde, who could feel the tears coming already._

Larxene turned her eyes back to Axel's face, the sharp features of his face still twisted in a mask of need, want, pure arousal. His small gasps still exited his mouth, no longer really resembling Roxas' name anymore, but the damage was already done.

She slowly slid off of him, green eyes wide, tears filling them as she slapped her hands up to cover her mouth, a low sob working it's way past the knot in her throat. She choked on the sound, closing her eyes tightly and curling into herself on the end of the couch. Her shoulders hunched forward, her head hanging, her antennae falling forward slightly.

Sora uncurled himself from around Riku's arm and sat next to her, wrapping his arms around the distraught woman, sending a questioning glare at Roxas, but smiling apologetically at Roxas' look of confusion, the tears in his eyes.

"_Seriously though, she and I have been seeing each other since high school. That's at least ten years, kiddo. There isn't any way we're ditching each other."_

That's what Axel had said to him the first time they really ever talked. That had to have been what Larxene, this strong, yet so, so delicate woman, had been going off of for the duration of her engagement to Axel. The love they shared for 'at least ten years,' the trust. And now she witnessed him have a wet dream about someone else. A man. The man next door.

And Roxas found a strange _glee_ in this happening. The little voice in the back of his mind was whispering '_finally_ the bitch is out of the picture!' That little voice that caused so many confusing thoughts, images. Thoughts and dreams that, even if they were so incredibly fleeting, he knew them to be unattainable, so settled to enjoying the confusing little fantasies.

Roxas felt the tears spill down his face silently, choking on a sob, guilt washing over him.

Larxene didn't deserve this. Hell, Axel didn't even deserve this. They should have been able to marry happily, had a child, grown old together. They should have been _happy_.

Axel shouldn't be lying on the couch, soiling his drawstring pajama pants, moaning another man's name. Larxene shouldn't be curled up in Sora's arms, sobbing violently into her hands, damn near dry-heaving at the force of her crying.

It took half an hour for Larxene to stop crying, Roxas just a few minutes more, running out of tears, and she stared at the blank television screen dazed, emotionless, not even a muscle in her face _twitching_. Roxas looked at her left hand as he saw it moving.

Her thumb was spinning her engagement ring around on her finger, her manicured nail clicking minutely against the silver band. She sighed finally and looked over at Roxas, anger flashing in her eyes.

The blonde, sort of afraid of the woman, looked around. Sora and Riku were lying on the floor, but he could see Riku's eyes glittering in the dim light, watching the woman.

"_You_." She whispered. "Have you done _anything_ with my fiancé?" She hissed, her face contorting as her eyes filled again.

"No." Roxas said softly, shaking his head. "I'd never—"

"Then _why_?" Larxene asked in a whimper, tears finally falling, her lower lip trembling. The salty liquid mixed with the fluids running from her nose, slowly creeping down over her upper lip. She hastily wiped it away, one antenna stuck to her cheek in a wet, matted clump.

Larxene had crossed the line from looking pretty as she cried to looking hideous. Her appearance matched that of the monster of grief, sorrow, and maybe even hatred. "_Why_? We've been…we've been together for so long and he knows you for two _fucking_ weeks!"

Roxas whimpered as more tears sprang to the woman's eyes to join the rest of their salty comrades, committing suicide off her chin to land on the soft fabric covering her breasts.

"Just…tell me _why_, I just…want to know." She whispered, drawing her knees up to her chest, laying her forehead on them.

Riku had propped himself up on his elbow, watching the two blondes in silence, his hand stroking through Sora's hair.

Roxas crawled over to Larxene, putting his hand on one of her feet, tears rolling down his face in steady streams. "I…don't know, Larxene. I'm sor—"

Larxene pushed him away lightly, her face a mask of frustration. "I'm sorry, Roxas." She murmured as she towered above him. "You're just…as confused as me. I need out of here." She looked down at Riku sadly. "I'm calling your brother."

Riku looked at the clock on the DVD player worriedly. "Larx, it's three in the morn—"

"Xemnas can just _suck it up_. I need out of this damn town." The woman growled, storming off to her room, slamming the door behind her.

Somehow, Axel remained sleeping, oblivious to the drama taking place around him.

-oOoOoOo-

Two hours later, Larxene stood out on the landing, watching the sun rising, as it always did so early in the town that time of year. A cigarette hung, unlit, from her lips, her face still puffy. She hadn't gone to bed at all. She had spent those two hours packing.

"Larxene?" Roxas asked quietly, slowly shutting the door behind himself, still being cautious around the heartbroken woman.

The woman turned to look at him, smirking around the cancer stick. "Hey, kiddo."

Letting the undesirable pet name slide, Roxas hung his head. "I'm so sorry about you and Axel. I truly am."

Larxene chuckled softly, shrugging. "Look, kiddo, you didn't choose this. You didn't somehow influence him to lose interest in me. I'll get over it. Right?"

"Aren't you going to stick around and talk to him?" The younger blonde asked, raising an eyebrow. "Maybe you can…fix this."

"Nothings broken, Roxas." Larxene replied, looking at him sadly. "I'm aching, but I'm not broken. Our relationship is over, but not broken. Sorry for the cliché, but you can't fix what isn't broken. And I'll just wait until Axel calls me. I need that time to cool down a bit more anyway."

Roxas didn't have time to respond as she looked back at the sliver of parking lot she could see between the buildings. "My taxi's here. See you later, squirt."

And she hurried down the stairs, bogged down with heavy luggage. Suddenly, at the bottom of the stairs, she stopped, looking up at Roxas, a small smile on her lips, her puffy, bloodshot eyes lighting up a bit. "Take care of him."

And she was walking already, out of earshot before Roxas couldn't even _think_ of a response.

So he stood there, staring at her hurrying form stupidly. He stood there—staring stupidly—until the taxi disappeared before he went back into Riku's apartment to collect Sora.

Riku and Sora stood in the kitchen, Sora leaning back against the counter, Riku standing against him, facing him, his face hovering but an inch away from Sora's. The brunette, though dazed by the close proximity, was smiling, at ease, even as one of Riku's hands ran up and down his left side. The silveret's other hand was resting against the counter, supporting some of his weight.

The redhead on the couch stirred, tearing Roxas' eyes away from his happy brother, a blush that probably clashed with his eyes setting his entire face on fire.

Axel sighed, slowly blinking open his eyes, wrinkling nose and he looked down at his lap, groaning. "Fuck…" He groaned, looking over and saw Roxas. "Hey, I didn't say anything embarrassing right? I don't think I even remember this one."

Roxas' heart hit the floor, shattering at Axel's words. Axel didn't even _remember_ the dream. How the hell was this situation supposed to get resolved?

The younger male just laughed, and shook his head. "No, nothing at all." Roxas lied, hoping it went by unnoticed. Axel did hesitate for a moment, but sat up, shrugging.

"Where's Larx?" He asked, looking around.

Riku turned away from Sora, looking Roxas in the eye before clearing his throat. "There was an emergency back home. Xemnas called Larxene and she had to leave."

Axel nodded, before standing up and stretching, his shirt rising slightly. Roxas turned his face away from Axel, looking at the floor so he wouldn't be looking at the dampness on the front of the man's pants.

"Hey Sora, we should head back to our apartment. Separate the bunnies before they getting going at it again." Roxas murmured, turning back to the door to open it.

"Uh, okay Roxas!" Sora cried, looking at Riku briefly. "We should go out later, Riku." He said with a blush.

Riku smiled. "That'd be nice. You don't have work?"

"No. Um, come on over when you're ready, I guess." With a small parting kiss, Sora slid out from between his boyfriend and the counter and bounded out of the apartment after his brother.

When they were safe in their apartment, Sora grabbed his hand. "Are you…are you going to be okay?"

With a shrug, he pulled his hand away from Sora and walked down the hall, only to stop and open Demyx's door and scream at them to "get the fuck away from each other for God's sake."

-oOoOoOo-

Cloud looked up at Leon, eyebrow raised, visibly shocked. _'Well…this is unusual…'_ "What?"

Leon looked unimpressed, putting his hands on his leather clad hips. Cloud smirked. _'Mm…leather…'_ It had been a while since Cloud could think of leather as anything _but_ cold.

"I _said_ let's go out. Seriously, we can't just stay inside and talk and have sex." Leon said before looking at the ceiling. "Though this arrangement _is_ nice."

"Who're you trying to convince, me or you?" The blonde asked, grinning from behind his blonde bangs.

"Shut up and put your shoes on. We're going for a walk." The brunette hissed, walking over to his boots. Cloud liked those boots. They made undressing the man just that much more of a challenge and presented many ways to tease the brunette.

Cloud grabbed his own pair of shoes, smirking at his lover as they left in a hurry. "Where's the fire, Leon?"

Leon grabbed his hand, lacing their fingers together with a smile. "I just wanted out of the apartment for a while. Is that a crime?" He asked, pulling Cloud just a little bit closer.

"No." The blonde replied, planting a kiss on Leon's jaw, sighing. "Where are we going?"

"How about the park? I haven't gone there in a while." The brunette replied, letting go of Cloud's hand to slide his arm around his waist. "I used to go there to think a lot. It's really pretty, though this time of year it's just about overrun with tourists."

Cloud nodded, putting his arm around Leon's waist as well, a content smile gracing his lips. "Okay, sounds good."

Leon led the way, a small smile on his face the entire way, a smile Cloud enjoyed more than any talking, any _sex_ they could possibly have. Cloud didn't even know what made that smile so important, it just had an effect deep within the blonde's heart. It made Cloud want to smile, to laugh. It was that smile that made Cloud completely forget about Sephiroth because the snake _never_ had a smile so happy.

"We just have to take a fifteen minute train ride to Sunset Station." Leon explained as they walked up to the train station, going through the sliding doors beneath the clock tower. "The tickets are free if we're just going to Sunset Station. That's why I used to always go there. Free and inspiring."

"Inspiring?" Cloud asked, raising a fine blonde eyebrow.

"Oh." Leon muttered, walking onto the train specifically for Sunset Station. "I didn't tell you?"

"Didn't tell me what?" Cloud asked, cocking his eyebrow higher.

"I just assumed you figured it out. I'm a writer."

Cloud just froze in his spot, staring at his lover, blue eyes huge. _'No…way…it can't…' _ "What?!"

"Why the shock?" Leon asked, sitting down in the seat closest to where Cloud stopped. "I mean, I'm _always_ writing on that damn laptop, and how the hell did you think I paid the bills when I only work at a restaurant on _Tuesdays_. Well, I do pay for the bills with _that_ paycheck, but how do you think I get food or clothes? Especially this leather?"

"No it's…it's just…you're…_the_ Squall?" Cloud murmured, sitting down with a huff. "I thought it was merely coincidence that…you're…"

"Cloud, sweetheart, how many Squall's do you think exist?" Leon asked, sounding worried.

"Well if you ever put your last name on your books, I wouldn't be so shocked!" The blonde cried, blushing heavily. "I mean…just…never mind…"

Leon just laughed. "What's the big deal, anyway, Cloud?"

Cloud laughed slightly, shaking his head. "I've been sleeping with my favourite author this whole time, and I didn't even connect the names."

Leon just laughed, shaking his head. "You're really something, Cloud." Leaning against Cloud's shoulder, the brunette placed a kiss to his cheek. "I think that's why I like you so much."

Blushing heavier, Cloud crossed his arms and pouted out the window, turning away from Leon slightly, but couldn't help but giggle as the man nibbled lightly at his earlobe.

They reached Sunset Station and Leon grabbed Cloud's hand, pulling him out of the train and down a flight of steps.

Cloud couldn't help but think how cute this part of town was, finding it hard to believe that Leon could find inspiration in a place like this. Leon's books were more mystery and horror. Then again, that alley they just passed didn't look _at all_ cute.

"Just through that archway and we're there." Leon said, almost giddily as he practically dragged his boyfriend up the hill. The townsfolk were giving them the strangest looks.

Finally getting to the archway, Cloud gasped at how gorgeous the park really was. A few houses were along the edges, but otherwise, the rolling hills of pure _green_ were devoid of any buildings, left alone for tourists and townspeople alike to enjoy it for what it was; beautiful. There was a single dirt path up through the hills, what it crested at, Cloud couldn't see.

"Only lovers really go up to the top of the hill." Leon whispered before tugging Cloud in that direction.

The blonde smirked and followed the brunette, his breath leaving him again at reaching the end of the path.

It was a green area that ended in a fenced off cliff overlooking Twilight town to the left, the distant beach to the right. There were only two benches and a small clock tower with a fountain at it's base. Immediately, Cloud went to sit down on the bench looking at the beach and it's ocean, smiling hugely back at Leon.

"I can kind of see how this inspires you." Cloud murmured as Leon sat down next to him, humming in the back of his throat as the brunette put his arm around his shoulders.

"Mm-hmm." Leon nodded, leaning his head against Cloud's, chuckling as the blonde pulled away with a squawk to fix his flattened spikes. "Damn, Cloud. You're such a woman, I can't see why you top."

"If you wanted to, you should have just said so." Cloud murmured, turning slightly so his back was leaning against Leon more than his shoulder.

"Mm, that's something I'll just have to think about." Leon laughed, pressing a kiss to the back of Cloud's head.

-oOoOoOo-

It was hours later on the hill, after going to a nearby restaurant for an early dinner, that Cloud and Leon sat in comfortable silence, watching the sun slowly set, fingers laced together on Leon's lap.

"Leon, why do you live in that apartment if you have the money to…_not_?" Cloud asked, not even looking at the other man.

"I'm used to that apartment. It's comfortable, it's functional. It's good enough for me." Leon replied, shrugging.

Nodding, Cloud turned his head to look at Leon, their lips an inch apart.

The blonde knew instantly right then why this hill was popular for lovers. The way the orange light of the setting sun hit Leon's face, especially that scar, the scar that Cloud loved just about as much as the man himself, was beyond beautiful. Instantly, at that moment, Cloud's thoughts _fizzit_ed out, blue eyes widening a fraction.

Loved Leon? He _loved_ Leon? The concept was hard for the blonde to process. Sure, his feelings for Leon were so…unreal and just _happy_ all around, but was saying he loved him going way too far at that point? They'd only been together for two weeks, he couldn't possibly love Leon already. It took Cloud a year to finally say he loved Sephiroth.

But, Cloud felt so much _more_ for this brunette. Could he _really_ already love Leon?

Something passed through Leon's stormy eyes, maybe even the same thoughts, and Cloud found himself on the brunette's lap, ravishing his mouth for all it was worth.

Leon's arms clamped around Cloud's waist tightly, pulling the blonde's lap flush against his, moaning deeply as Cloud pulled at his rich, brown hair.

Gasping at the friction against his lower regions, Cloud gyrated down against Leon, chuckling at the broken gasp he received before groaning as Leon did the same.

Cloud broke away for a second to catch his breath before diving in tongue-first. Leon's own slick muscle met the blonde's halfway and instantly took control of their next kiss, and Cloud allowed it instantly.

The brunette pulled away and attacked Cloud's neck, earning himself a loud gasp from the blonde.

Smiling, hazy from pleasure, Cloud let his eyes flutter shut and his head fall back, giving Leon more room to work with.

Nothing could ruin this moment, and it felt perfect for a confession. Cloud was suddenly _very_ sure about his feelings for Leon.

"Leon…_ohh_…Leon, I l—"

"_Spike_?!"

Cloud's head shot up instantly, eyes open as he pushed Leon's head away from him slightly, indescribably happy, yet so horrified to see who stood on the path.

The man who'd yelled the affectionate nickname, his black hair spiked up hedgehog style, stood there with his mouth gaping, violet-blue eyes wide. His hand was clutching the hand of a woman wearing a white sundress, her long brown hair pulled into a braid, held high on her head with a large pink bow.

His fingers were spazzing around hers as his mouth moved wordlessly.

"Zack…Aerith…" Cloud gasped, getting off of Leon's lap, face heating up. Leon turned to glare at the couple, standing up slowly.

Zack scratched the back of his head with his free hand, shaking his head and closing his eyes. "Damn, Spike. When Seph said you disappeared, I didn't expect to find you cheating on him."

**TBC**

_Woo…Zack Fair! Finally! I've been waiting for this part for so long! Daaaayaaaamn…_

_Okies, so…yeah…I was going to write more, but I can't capture the right emotion for the next part. Hmm…_

_Okies, the reason Larx was so cool about everything before you ask:_

_**That all came from a conversation that Ania and I were having one day. We both agreed that we'd rather have our boyfriends cheat on us with a guy cuz we won't constantly be wondering "what'd he have that I don't?" The answer is obvious.**_

_**A penis.**_

_**Anyway, with a girl, you could constantly be comparing yourself to her.**_

_**Don't question my logic.**_

_And yes, the movie in the last chapter was __**The Mist**__. Watched that movie with the youth group at my wife's Buddhist church. Basically, __**that**__ reaction. Yup._

_Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Umm…yeah!_

_**Quick thanks go to **__Silver, Kel-Vampyre, Genocide-Bloodshed, Padfoot, Ghostly Green, Froggy, Zoa, YaoiLover, Leah, Becca, Jess, fullmetal naruto girl, Mr. Frost, Kitty-Cat-Kauri, Takika, Myou Matsuro, __**and **__Faeries-Landing__**. Thanks for reviewing, loves!**_

_I love you all and not to sound ungrateful…but…seriously…__**17 REVIEWS**__ as opposed to the usual __**6 OR 7**__?! Now I can see what you guys are __**REALLY**__ in this for!! Lol! And the chapter when Axel and Roxas first talk __**19 REVIEWS**__!!_

_Seriously, people! Show more love than just that! -:cries:-_

_But seriously, thanks for reviewing, I love you all!_

_Anyway, read, love, review, repeat!_

_Number, kupo,  
Aggie B._


	14. When I Ruled the World

_ALI LOVE, I DID THIS FOR YOU!!_

_Cheer up! I wrote Cleon smex for you!!_

_Anyway, ONWARDS!_

**Chapter 14  
When I Ruled the World**

_Zack scratched the back of his head with his free hand, shaking his head and closing his eyes. "Damn, Spike. When Seph said you disappeared, I didn't expect to find you cheating on him."_

The raven-haired man looked at Leon, visibly unimpressed. "You know he's taken right?"

Leon arched his eyebrow high. "I believe Cloud made it _quite_ clear it was over when he left."

"Stay out of this, Chocolate." Zack growled in his direction.

"Chocolate?" Leon squawked indignantly.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" Cloud asked, his body shaking. "Did Seph send you?" The blonde could see Leon whip his head around to look at Cloud at hearing him use the mans nickname.

Zack looked at Aerith and shook his head. "No. He didn't send us. Aerith and I were just getting away from the city for a while." Then Zack pulled out his phone. "Look, Cloud, he's hurting bad—"

"Well he should've thought about that—"

"You _know_ he can't take much more." Zack hissed, shooting an angry glare at Leon.

Cloud was shaking, shaking so horribly, violently almost. He knew, he _knew_ Sephiroth couldn't take much more pain, anymore heartache, anymore loss, but _dammit_ Cloud was happy! He was _finally_ content.

Aerith was crying, for reasons no one really actually knew. She was just standing there crying. Zack put his arm around her waist.

"Look, Cloud, I'm not going to take sides. You can't force me to take sides, but Seph told me to call him if I saw you—"

"_NO_!!" Leon roared, eyes wide and wild as he stormed up to Zack, hands balled into fists. Instinctively, Zack put his arm against Leon's chest, violet-blue eyes showing just a bit of fear. "He is _not_—"

"Just give me a couple more days, Zack." Cloud begged, voice cracking with unshed tears.

His brunette lover whipped around, stormy eyes huge, face revealing his hurt. "_What_?" He hissed.

Cloud flinched. "_Please_, Zack. Just…a couple more days and I'll go back. I'll go back on my own. You don't even have to call him."

"Wow, Strife, just _wow_." Leon growled, shaking his head. He turned around slowly.

"Leon?" Cloud whimpered, looking at the back of his boyfriend's head. Tears sprung to his eyes as he saw Leon's shoulders stiffen.

"Look, Strife, I just thought I meant just a little bit more than 'a couple more days.' My mistake." And with that, he shoved Zack out of the way, intent on storming away. Aerith let out a sob, pulling away from her boyfriend.

"Leon!" Cloud cried, running to grab his arm. "You _do_, Leon. Please believe me." He begged, shaking with his held in sobs. He'd never feared loss this much in his entire life. This whole situation felt new to him, foreign. Cloud gripped Leon's arm tighter, fearing the man would vanish.

Laughing bitterly, Leon shook his head, face still turned away from Cloud. "How can I, Cloud? How can I believe you?" Leon turned to look at Cloud, shocking the man with tears in his eyes. "How can I _possibly_ believe you when you're choosing that abusive _prick_ over me?"

"Stop…" Aerith moaned, wiping her eyes.

"Leon—" Cloud gasped as the brunette wrenched his arm out of the blonde's grasp.

"Look, Strife, if you were just going to stick around to fuck, don't bother showing up at my apartment tonight. Stay with Sora or something." Leon laughed, wiping his eyes. "Better yet," he looked straight into Cloud's eyes. "Run on home to _Seph_."

"If I don't go back, Squall, and Zack fucking calls him, he'll come _here_, god fucking dammit!" Cloud screamed at the top of his lungs. "And he'll hurt _you_!"

"Seph would _not_." Zack said disbelievingly, eyebrow raised.

"_Stop_." Aerith said more firmly, green eyes shut tight.

"Whose side did you just choose, Mr. I'm-Not-Going-To-Pick-Sides?" Leon hissed at the raven-haired man. "And who says he wouldn't do anything to hurt me, I mean he already beats—"

"They don't know, Leon." Cloud whispered, daring to grab Leon's hand, grasping it tightly.

"Well if they _did_, maybe they wouldn't send you home!" Leon bellowed, ripping his hand out of Cloud's. The blonde whimpered and took a step away from the brunette. "Maybe if they _knew_ about your nightmares, 'Seph's' angry little episodes—"

"_Enough_!" Aerith finally yelled. "This is getting us nowhere!"

Zack nodded, hands on his hips, eyes calculating. "Okay, Spike, you've been hiding something from me. I want it straightened out before I call Seph, got it?"

Cloud nodded, staring at the ground still.

"We're in the hotel over on Sunset Terrace. Room 560. Come over tomorrow afternoon, whenever, we'll be there." Zack grabbed Cloud and pulled him into a tight hug, pressing a light kiss to his golden hair. "I'm sorry to make you so upset."

"It's okay." The blonde whispered, pushing away from his friend.

"See you tomorrow." Aerith said softly, touching Cloud's arm, before following her boyfriend down the hill.

There was silence before Leon cleared his throat. "Cloud—"

"Not now." The blonde whispered back, walking down the hill to Sunset Station, just realizing how dark it had gotten.

-oOoOoOo-

"Cloud? Where are you going?"

The blonde stopped on the first step, looking back at the brunette, a bit confused, tears blurring his eyesight again. "I thought…you said you didn't want me…"

"I said no such thing, at least I didn't mean it. Come on, lets go to bed." Leon said, grabbing Cloud's wrist and pulling him into his apartment.

The brunette led them down the hall to the room, where he stripped Cloud down to his boxers and followed suit. Pulling them both into bed, Leon sighed as Cloud cuddled against his side.

"Can you fill the missing links in for me?" Leon asked, propping his head up on his hand, elbow bent against his pillow. "For example, who they were? Their connection to you and Sephiroth? Why that _prick_ is so oblivious?"

"Don't talk about Zack that way." Cloud said half-heartedly. "He's just…just…okay, he's my best friend. We've been friends since we were seven."

"Then why didn't you tell him about Sephiroth? If he's your best friend?" Leon asked, confused now.

"Because…he's just as powerless against Sephiroth as I am. And he's just about closer to Seph than he is to me." Cloud whispered, rolling onto his side so he could press his whole body against Leon's.

"Explain, please?" Leon prodded, putting his free arm around Cloud's waist.

"It's a long story." The blonde murmured.

"We have all night." The brunette whispered.

Sighing, Cloud shrugged. "Seph is sort of, Zack's dad. In a way. He's much older than us, like, by ten years at least. **(A/N: Yesh, Crisis Core Game Guide fanatics, I know that Sephiroth is only like six years older than Cloud, but LEAVE IT! --)**

"When Zack and I were twelve, Zack's parents died. He didn't have any known relatives, so a family friend, Angeal, adopted him. Angeal…was really cool, from what I saw of him. Zack never really invited me over after his parents died. He always hung out at my house. Anyway, Angeal, it turns out, was seeing Sephiroth at the time. They were really tight." The blonde cleared his throat slightly.

"When Zack and I were sixteen, Angeal got into a really bad accident. He ended up passing away in the hospital." Cloud shrugged. "Seph ended up adopting Zack cuz he had nowhere to go. At that point, I'd come out of the closet, so I was banned from going anywhere but Aerith's." Cloud laughed now. "That's how she and Zack got together. He'd always come over to hang out with us and eventually he confessed his undying love. The bugger was such an arrogant, cocky ass half the time, I don't see how Aerith returned his feelings."

"And…?"

'_Does he want…the whole story?'_ "What more do you want to know?" Cloud asked, looking up at Leon's face.

"How you and Sephiroth got together, when the abuse really got going, how or why Zack doesn't know?" Leon offered, eyebrow raised.

Cloud sighed, shrugging. "Sephiroth just happened to be wandering around the slums, at least that was what I'd thought. I was trying to steal food because I was only eighteen, and I was starving. I was damn near the point of turning to prostitution for some cash flow." Cloud smiled at the memory. "As soon as he recognized me, he grabbed my wrist, pulled me all the way to his car in the nicer district, and took me to his house. While I was soaking in a forced bath, he ripped a new one into my mother for being so callous."

"Really?" Leon whispered, sounding disbelieving.

Cloud chuckled. "Really. I lived with Seph for a good half of a year before we got together. To say the least, Zack wasn't too happy. Not cuz Seph was basically his dad, but because Seph was thirty and I wasn't even nineteen yet. Soon, he decided it was okay."

"His character judgment sucks then." The brunette grumbled against Cloud's forehead.

"No, Sephiroth _never_ hit Angeal." Cloud said defensively, glaring at Leon slightly at the slight interruption.

The blonde sighed and continued. "Everything was pretty good until one day, Seph got a call to come in and indentify the body of his childhood friend, a guy named Genesis. I didn't even know this guy even _existed_. Seph told me that he had an incurable disease where your body slowly degrades, starting in the brain. Everyone dies from it before it gets to most of the body, though. Genesis had gone missing shortly after Angeal died, and that was why Seph was in the slums the day he found me. He was looking for Genesis, because Genesis was going crazy." Cloud let out a broken sigh.

"Apparently, Genesis just went so insane, he ended up killing himself…Sephiroth just wasn't the same since." Cloud felt tears coming to his eyes. "And you know? I understand why. Angeal had died, taking a good portion out of Seph's heart with him. Probably most of Seph's _being_ with him. When he learned he was too late to save Genesis from his own insanity, he lost just that little bit more. All he had was his brothers, now."

"He had you, didn't he?" It sounded hard for Leon to say.

"I…I was…" Cloud swallowed the hard knot that worked it's way into his throat. "I think he was trying to fill Angeal's hole, that missing piece, you know?" Cloud smiled sadly. "I almost filled it, Leon. We were pretty happy, but when Genesis…when he turned up dead, Seph just…I couldn't even begin to _compete_ with that void in Seph's heart. I realized that pretty soon, as sad as that sounds."

Leon hummed slightly before sighing. "Did you ever tell him that?"

"Once." Cloud smiled. "And he apologized for even making me think that way. That night, we had the best sex we'd ever had with each other." Leon's eye twitched. "And we were pretty happy for a good three months, I think. I dunno. It wasn't the same as before, but at least it was _something_."

"What changed?"

Cloud bit down on a sob, but the tears still fell. "Kadaj, Sephiroth's youngest brother…he got diagnosed with the same disease Genesis had."

"Ouch." Leon whispered, tightening his hold around Cloud's waist.

"He just…he's gone backwards in his maturity. He's extremely high-strung, hyper, but skittish. He only lets Sephiroth, the twins, and me near him. But, something in Sephiroth snapped, just _broke_. He was pure _rage_ from that point on. And poor Kadaj would annoy him so horribly. It was just another reason I stuck around, so Seph would hit _me_, the healthy adult, instead of his sick little brother. Kadaj couldn't help it."

"How old is Kadaj?" Leon asked, lifting his hand to run it through Cloud's hair.

"Roxas' age. He's lucky, though. There's two ways to go with this disease; peacefully in your sleep, or insane until you die or kill yourself. Kadaj seems to be going in the peaceful direction, so at least Seph doesn't have to see his little brother go insane." Cloud replied, wiping his eyes with the back of his hands. "But I'm not giving him an excuse to hit me. It's just that…he just…he's had it tough."

Leon nodded, placing a kiss to Cloud's forehead. "I guess I understand, to a point, now. And you didn't want Zack to _not_ respect Sephiroth?"

Cloud nodded, sighing against the flesh of Leon's neck. "Yeah. Zack has this image of Sephiroth. I have it too, you know? I remember when Angeal first died, how…broken Zack was. Aerith clobbered him with her calm love after she found out what was wrong, but just…the way Zack would talk about Seph, about how awesome he was, and how mature he was, even if he was, at the time, still in his twenties. And how _honorable_, my god that was just about all I heard sometimes about Sephiroth! And whenever I'd see him in passing, when I'd pick Zack up to go hang out with Aerith, I'd see him with that posture of his, wearing that expensive clothes, and his perfect hair, and I'd believe _everything_ Zack ever said about him." The blonde murmured, pressing his body tighter to Leon's.

The brunette sighed and his eye fluttered shut briefly. "I guess that's a good enough answer to my questions. Let's sleep."

"Good idea." Cloud laughed slightly, rolling so Leon was on his back, the blonde lying partially on top of him.

It felt wrong to confess now, so the blonde kept his mouth shut. He still didn't know if Zack would let him stay. He couldn't bare to have to leave after confessing something so profound.

So he drifted off to sleep, three hours later, after listening to Leon sleep soundly, peacefully, muttering only a bit. Cloud only fell asleep, though, because he grew too exhausted to worry about his conversation with Zack the next afternoon.

-oOoOoOo-

Roxas sat behind the counter at the library, eyes trained to his fingernails as he picked at them, yawning.

So Axel obviously…liked him. Okay, he could definitely deal with that. Guys like Axel, confident, cocky, loud and…fiery were almost _expected_ to possibly go both ways, right?

At least that's what he always read in the stupid magazines Yuffie keeps behind the counter. For such a scary girl, she sure was _girly_ at times.

What _did_ bother him was how he _liked_ the sound of Axel desiring him in some way.

Yuffie bounced in, stopping at the doorway to whip around and wave at a man with long dark hair outside the window. He gave faint nod and turned, walking away.

She spun around on her toe and grinned. "Hel-loooo Blondie!" Suddenly, she stood up straight, clasping her hands behind her back, pursing her lips, arching her left eyebrow, and narrowing her eyes in a scrutinizing stare. "What's up."

"Nothing." Roxas replied.

Suddenly, she was at the counter, leaning on it, her face close to his. "Do I have to force it out of you?"

"Do I have to tell Vincent you jumped me?" Roxas asked, backing away from the girl.

She shrugged. "He'd only kill _you_."

"Point." Roxas pouted, going back to observing his fingernails.

"Does this have…anything to do with a certain…redhead?"

Roxas' head shot up, blue eyes wide as he stared at her. "Axel?"

"No, Kairi!" She cried sarcastically, throwing her hands up in the air. "Jesus, Rox! Sometimes I have to worry about you."

"How do you…did you…?" He asked desperately, looking around, happy to see there were no customers to overhear.

"Whenever he'd come in, you'd just give this starry-eyed look." She sighed, looking up at the ceiling. Then she contorted her face. "It was sickeningly sweet. I could feel my teeth rotting."

"You give Vinnie-darling that same look." Roxas said, unimpressed.

"But at least _I_ am gettn' some." Yuffie retorted, grinning. "I suggest some _research_ in that certain…area, considering you've been banging a vag for five years."

"My _god_ you are just as crude as Axel!" Roxas cried, blushing, and covering his ears. "Why are you even _here_?!"

"So you can go home. Zexion called me and said that you were in a sour mood, and upon further investigation, I found out from Sora that _something_ happened with Axel this weekend. He didn't tell me _what_, so don't castrate him just yet." She quickly said at seeing the angry set to Roxas' mouth.

She came around the counter and put her hand on the blonde's back, quite suddenly acting her age. "Seriously, Roxas. I'll cover for you tomorrow as well. You need space to think, and do some reading. Seriously, research, but do _not_ Google it. Please, I do not need your virgin eyes corrupted by gay porn."

Roxas rolled his eyes and looked at Yuffie. "Then what do I look at?" He asked, hoping to _god_ there wasn't a homosexual how-to section in the library.

"Haven't you seen the homosexual section in the library?" Yuffie asked, eyebrow raised. _(A/N: Yes, they exist.)_ "It's in that one corner at the very back with the burnt out light above it and cobwebs everywhere. It's great for lil virgin Roxies."

"Rot in Hell, Yuffie." He growled, going to pick up his bag to leave.

As he reached the doorway, Yuffie called out to him.

"What, Ninja?" Roxas asked, exasperated with her already.

She just smiled kindly, one hand on her hip. "You should go talk to Namine, or even call Hayner. You know those two will always be there for you."

Roxas smiled and nodded, walking out in the direction of the front doors, but stopped to look at the back corner, the one with the burnt out light and the cobwebs. Actually, it was pretty well-lit with the sunlight pouring in from the windows, and the janitors kept the cobwebs to a minimum.

Sighing, he looked back into the gift shop at Yuffie before marching to the back corner, trying to ignore her obnoxious, booming laughter.

-oOoOoOo-

"Roxas?" Namine gasped when she opened her door, head cocked to the left, eyes drifting slowly down to Roxas' rather heavy looking messenger bag.

"I need to just hang out here, okay?"

Namine stepped out of the way, letting her friend in.

"Is Kairi here?" Roxas asked flopping down on the couch and letting the bag thump heavily down onto the floor.

Namine raised her eyebrows, shocked. "Uh, no—"

"Nam, I think I'm gay." Roxas blurted out, looking down at his hands, shaking violently.

Namine sat down next to him, putting a hand on his knee. "Roxas, you don't just _turn_ gay—"

"I know that!" Roxas cried, suddenly tears coming to his eyes for the first time. Sure he cried a lot the day before, but those tears were for Larxene and for Axel's ruined love. Now, he finally found tears for himself, confused, angry tears. "I fucking _know_ that, Nam!"

Namine reached over and wiped away Roxas' tears, nibbling on her bottom lip as Roxas' entire body shook with his suppressed sobs, waiting for him to continue. She knew not to pressure him for answers when he was like this. He'd eventually get to the point of it. He always did.

"That's why I'm so confused." He whispered. "I want him so _bad_ Namine." He moaned, hugging his knees to his chest, resting his forehead against them.

"Axel?" Namine whispered into Roxas' ear as she hugged him, moving to rest her lips against his temple as he nodded.

"God dammit I'm so confused, Namine." He whispered, shaking his head. "For god's sake, he's _engaged_. _Was_ engaged, I mean."

"What do you mean 'was?' I thought he and Larxene were madly in love." Namine asked, pulling away from Roxas to look at him.

"Me too, but then…Axel had a…dream about me in front of everyone. But he doesn't even remember it." Then Roxas laughed humorlessly. "Or maybe he did and was just…faking it. But Larxene left. She's waiting for him to call her."

The blonde girl nodded, running a hand through Roxas' hair lightly smiling sadly. "What are you going to do, then?"

The boy sighed, uncurling himself to look at Namine. "You mind if I hang out over here for the evening? Maybe even spend the night?"

"No, not at all!" Namine said cheerfully, hugging Roxas. "How about you go take a nap in my room? I'll call Sora for you."

Roxas nodded and stood, stumbling down the hall to Namine's bedroom, shutting the door behind himself.

Pulling of his pants and shirt—no need laying in her bed in his dirty clothes—he looked around her room, smiling finally.

He always enjoyed wandering around Namine's room, for it had hundreds of pictures everywhere, leaving barely enough room for a desk, a bed, and a dresser.

He loved to just look at all the old pictures and how much better she's gotten over the years, and most of the time they were the embarrassing pictures she didn't let anyone else see. She only let herself, Kairi, and Roxas into her bedroom, the only people she really trusted.

He laughed as he looked at the collection of sketches she drew of him, most of which were pictures of him asleep, stretched across her parents couch, a soft pleasant smile on his face even in his sleep.

Was he ever just that content? He had to ponder that question sadly as he considered his current condition.

Then he noticed a very new picture, actually on an easel, just about finished, and he felt a fresh wave of confusion, and this time his anger was aimed at Namine.

'_She said…promised she wouldn't do anything!'_

It was of him and Axel sitting on a couch. Roxas himself curled up in a ball, smiling at Axel, a blush on his cheeks, his eyes saying so much more than just friendship. And Axel was lounging comfortably, leaning close to Roxas' face, that familiar cocky grin on his lips.

But his eyes were unfinished, Roxas realized, his anger calming down. He even allowed himself to wonder what had Namine confused. That was the only reason she'd leave a painting unfinished, or at least a certain part unfinished.

Shaking his head, he turned away from the picture to lay down in the bed and slowly drift off to sleep.

-oOoOoOo-

Roxas awoke to chatter in the main entrance, blue eyes blinking tiredly at the clock. It was only an hour and a half after he crawled into the bed.

He listened to the voices, instantly picking out Kairi and Sora talking, laughing. Maybe he even heard Riku. It had been a while since those three were together as friends, Roxas realized with a smile.

He heard Sora, Riku, and Kairi say goodbye to Namine, saying something about going out for dinner together for old time's sake. Namine said she'd get the mail and left too.

Climbing out of the bed, Roxas stretched and walked to the door. He hurried over to the bathroom to wash his face, rinse out his mouth, and mostly to relieve himself of his near exploding bladder.

Roxas stepped out of the bathroom, stretching in the hall and scratching the back of his head, hissing as his fingernail caught that same scar on his scalp. Groaning, he began wandering down the hall towards the living room, rubbing his eyes.

He was hardly a fast riser, especially if he just took an afternoon nap. It usually took him quite a while for his brain to catch up with the world.

That's probably why he didn't notice the man with bright red hair sitting in the living room until _after_ he got himself a glass of water. And it took him even longer to remember he was only in his boxers.

"Wow, Roxas. Is this what you do with your afternoons off?" Axel asked, one arm slung over the back of Namine's couch, one eyebrow raised high, the look on his face far from impressed.

"What?" The younger boy asked, rubbing his eyes, trying to clear the fuzziness from his head.

"Well," Axel clapped his hands together and stood up. "Can't say I'm not proud of ya' Rox."

"Look, I came over and she told me to go to the bedroom. I'm just spending the night." Roxas explained through the hazy sleepiness in his head.

The redhead just nodded. "I figured that. You really don't have to explain yourself to me."

"What are _you_ doing here?" Roxas asked, watching the redhead's face as the other man thought.

"I had an appointment with Namine. She just finished up with some more sketches. She was talking about _you_ a lot. I guess I see why." Then he looked at Roxas, smiling thinly. "And I guess I see why she was ushering everyone out of the apartment."

Then Axel marched over to the door, picking up his coat on the way. "I'll talk to you later, Rox. Tell Namine that I'll come back some other time."

When he opened the door, Namine was standing just outside, hand poised above the doorknob that was once there, looking up in shock at Axel.

"Ax!" Roxas said reaching out as Axel brushed lightly past Namine and walked briskly down the hall.

The girl looked at Roxas desperately. "What's going on?" She asked, stepping in and closing the door.

"I didn't know he was here. I was thirsty." Roxas muttered, rubbing his eyes and slapping himself to wake up. "And he just…I don't even know."

"Roxas, go back to bed. I'll make you something to eat." Namine said sadly, pushing her half-naked ex-boyfriend back towards the hall.

-oOoOoOo-

Leon paced. He was nervous beyond reason. Cloud promised to be back by three.

The brunette looked at the clock. It mocked him, saying it was ten o'clock. Seven full hours since the promised time.

What if Zack kidnapped Cloud back to Hollow Bastion?

Leon immediately stopped thinking that. That was beyond irrational. He doubted Zack would be able to lure Cloud into that kind of trap.

What if Sephiroth was there? He had plenty of time to drive from Hollow Bastion to get here since yesterday. What if he got into a car accident? Gay lovers don't get that kind of notification.

Once again, Leon put a stop to his thoughts.

Cloud just got held up, is all. Leon had to reason with himself.

He made himself another pot of coffee, watching it brew while fidgeting a pack of cigarettes between his fingers nervously, not once pulling one out and lighting it. Cloud would flip a bitch if he came home and it smelt like cigarettes, no matter how nervous Leon was.

Leon smiled to himself. Cloud coming _home_ had a nice ring to it. Then Leon frowned, looking at the clock.

10:05

He started tapping the countertop, closing his eyes. Even when Cloud got back, he might not be staying that long. He couldn't get his hopes up about Cloud coming _home_ to him.

His home was in Hollow Bastion with Sephiroth, apparently. At least it is to Zack.

Leon sighed, closing his eyes and letting his head fall back. "Fuck, Squall…" He muttered to himself.

As he poured himself a cup of coffee, he heard the thunderous roar of Fenrir pull into the parking lot, and Leon couldn't stop the sigh of relief that rushed through him.

-oOoOoOo-

Cloud turned off Fenrir, sighing happily and turning his face to the heavens, smiling. That afternoon had gone extremely well, despite how scared he was.

It started with an argument with Leon. His lover had insisted on coming along, but Cloud had won, promising to be home at three.

When he'd arrived at Zack and Aerith's hotel room, Zack went immediately into arguing with Cloud before locking himself in the bathroom and refusing to come out.

Four hours later after Cloud and Aerith had actually gone out for lunch, Zack finally crawled out of the bathroom and decided to hear his best friend out.

Needless to say, Zack finally believed Cloud's story about Sephiroth after the blonde even went into tears.

Then they spent a couple hours talking about how they've been, Cloud mostly gushing about Leon, and Zack and Aerith talking about their recent engagement.

And now Cloud was returning home. Home, because Zack was letting him stay. He wasn't going to call Sephiroth on him.

He opened the door to the apartment, smiling at seeing Leon sitting on the couch, book in one hand, coffee mug in the other one.

The entire apartment absolutely _reeked_ of coffee and Cloud could see an empty coffee container sideways on the counter.

The blonde looked back at Leon and shut the door.

The brunette looked up, face stern. "You're back."

Cloud copied the man's look and nodded. "I'm home."

Leon put his coffee and book down and marched up to Cloud, giving the blonde a sharp shove. "You said _three_." He muttered, crossing his arms over his chest.

Cloud raised shocked blue eyes up to Leon's face. "What does it matter what I said?"

The brunette took a step back. "What does it matter? It matters because I thought something happened, Cloud." Leon said quickly. "As your _boyfriend_, it matters that you said three and show up at ten!"

Now Cloud smiled, shaking his head. "You were worried about me?"

"Damn straight I was fuckn' worried about you! And it doesn't help that you drive the fucking death trap bike with no helmet—"

Cloud grabbed the back of Leon's head and pulled the brunette in for a passionate kiss, smiling as the other man instantly yielded to the gesture, his tongue meeting Cloud's for the duel for dominance.

But the blonde pulled away, grinning. "You're pretty sexy when you're worried, Leon." Then Cloud threw his arms around Leon's neck. "I'm staying." He whispered, kissing Leon's cheek before moving to nibble at the man's ear.

Leon gasped and threw his arms around Cloud's waist, pulling back just enough to bring their lips back together.

And then Cloud's stomach growled. Laughing, Cloud pushed away from Leon, blushing. "I didn't…eat." He murmured, kissing Leon again quickly before moving to the kitchen.

He was suddenly extremely nervous. He had rehearsed what he'd say to Leon if he could stay. He thought about it all the way home. But now that he was here, he couldn't seem to get the courage to come out and say. Just, _say it_.

He ate a small bowl of cereal and moved to the bedroom where he knew Leon would be waiting.

And waiting he was, sitting on the bed, fully clothed, smirking away.

Cloud sauntered over to Leon, a smirk touching his lips, wild desire glowing in his blue depths. "Hey Leon." He whispered as he straddled his lover's hips, bringing his lips softly to Leon's, sighing happily as the brunette's tongue brushed against his lower lip. "Do you wanna top tonight?"

"Mm?" Leon looked up at the blonde's face, a bit confused. "Why? I mean, hell yeah, I'd love to, but are you sure?"

Cloud smiled. "I trust you." _'Deep breath, take the plunge.'_ "I love you." He whispered, pressing his lips against Leon's again, tongue darting into the brunette's mouth as the man gasped.

Leon pulled away suddenly, attacking Cloud's neck. "Oh god, Cloud, I love you, too." He whispered heatedly, spinning the slightly smaller man so his back hit the bed.

Cloud laughed as Leon towered above him on all fours, fingers grappling at Cloud's clothes. The blonde assisted the man in the undressing of the both of them and soon they both lay naked, both smiling, but both having the same gleam of desire and dangerous passion, and pure _love_.

Leon leaned down and kissed Cloud on the lips briefly before moving down to his neck, biting down on the junction of the blonde's slender neck and his left shoulder, groaning at the sound of Cloud's broken gasp.

The brunette's hands wandered everywhere, this time he was in complete control and he was milking it for what it was worth. His eager lips wandered lower, his teeth nipping, his tongue sliding slickly along Cloud's pale skin, until he reached an erect nipple.

Taking it into his mouth, one of Leon's hands moved to pay attention to the other nipple, pulling the most delicious noises from the blonde.

As he continued to twist and flick one nipple, though, Leon began to kiss his way downwards once again, stopping at Cloud's navel to bite and suck at the sensitive flesh. He took his hand away from Cloud's chest opting to brush them up and down the blonde's sides, moving slowly downwards and resting at his hips. His thumps moved inwards, brushing against the wiry, blonde curls at the base of Cloud's proud erection.

Cloud arched against the barely-there touch, the head of his erection brushing against Leon's throat, pulling a deep groan from him.

Smirking, delighted by the sounds Cloud was making, Leon kissed his way down the trail of hair, stormy blue eyes only opening to check that he left a gloriously dark hickey on Cloud's abdomen.

Finally, his lips were at Cloud's straining sex, the blonde panting, hands clutching the blankets desperately.

"Leon…god, _please_!" He gasped, eyes rolling into the back of his head as the brunette nuzzled his lips against the base of his thick erection.

"Please, what, Cloud?" Leon asked in a whisper, his cool breath fanning across the hot organ at his mouth.

"If you don't suck me now, Leon, count your topping rights forever forbidden." Cloud growled, mustering up enough energy to glare at his lover through his arousal.

Chuckling, Leon took his lover into his mouth, hands already holding Cloud's hips down, already anticipating the wild bucking Cloud always attempted to do.

Cloud's head flew back, blonde spikes flattening against the pillow, his bangs getting stuck to his forehead in the sweat. He moaned long and hard, darkened blue eyes rolling back, hands moving from the blanket to the brunette's hair.

The blonde bent his long, milky-white legs, toes curling as Leon moaned around his arousal, sending white hot waves of pleasure through his entire body. Cloud's back arched as Leon's teeth scraped against the vein along the bottom of his erection, and his fingers clenched tighter in his lover's hair.

"L-Leon!" Cloud cried, thrashing his head to the side as his body spasmed, Leon giving a hard suck to the head of the blonde's erection. "I'm…I'm getting close!" He somehow managed to get the warning out through his critical state of arousal.

Leon's lips left his erection and Cloud groaned helplessly at the loss of heat before the brunette replaced his mouth with his hand.

While slowly pumping the blonde, so as to stimulate Cloud _just_ enough to keep him erect, but not enough to actually finish him off, Leon pushed three fingers into Cloud's gasping mouth.

The blonde moaned and instantly shut his lips around Leon's fingers, licking and sucking them until the brunette pulled them away.

Whimpering, Cloud opened his eyes desperately, pleading with Leon to continue silently, mouth open, his chin inclining up to Leon.

Leon bent over his lover, his lips crashing against Cloud's, tongue pressing against the blonde's just as desperately as Cloud's response.

Slowly, the brunette inserted one finger, keeping up the pumping action with his other hand. He knew Cloud was experienced with being bottom, but it _had _been a while since he bottomed. He wanted to go slower, or at least as slow as Cloud would permit him.

Cloud's face contorted slightly and pulled away from the kiss to gasp slightly. "Mm, more, Leon." He whispered, turning his face away from Leon and exposing the length of his slender neck to the hungry man above him.

Smiling, Leon inserted another digit, beginning a soft scissoring action, slowly pushing deeper. Lower his lips to Cloud's throat, he moved both hands slowly, slowly pushing deeper with his two fingers.

"I'm not going to break, Leon." Cloud groaned, arching his back. "Please, oh _god_, Leon. Please just—"

And Cloud's eyes flew open, back arching dangerously, mouth open in a silent scream before he settled down with a moan, eyes slowly rolling back into his head.

Gasping, Cloud blinked, bringing his eyes back to a grinning Leon. "If you don't fuck me soon, I swear to god…" He panted, eyes desperate, hands gripping Leon's shoulders painfully.

Leon just grinned wider. "Your gorgeous when your prostate is hit."

"My god, stop _talking_." Cloud groaned, closing his eyes as Leon pulled his fingers out slowly, teasingly.

Growling, Cloud spit into his hand and grabbed Leon's erection, pumping it quickly in his wet hand before wrapping his long legs around the man's waist and pulling him closer.

Leon moaned at Cloud's eagerness and let go of the blonde's erection to support his weight while his other hand guide himself to Cloud's entrance.

"Are you read?" Leon whispered, pushing slightly against the blonde's tight opening.

Cloud nodded, eyes shut in anticipation.

And slowly, Leon pushed forward, the head of his erection breaching the ring of muscles or Cloud's anus.

Cloud hissed, shutting his eyes at the sharp pain, groaning as Leon seated himself completely inside.

Leon began a slowly rocking motion, stormy eyes shut at the pure, raw sensation of being wrapped in Cloud's tight _heat_. Groaning, Leon bent his supporting arm so he rested on his elbow rather than his hand and let his forehead fall against Cloud's chest.

His other hand held Cloud's hips, angling them up and guide the blonde as Cloud rocked back against Leon.

Cloud's pale legs wrapped tighter around Leon's waist, and as one hand tangled back into the brunette's hair, the other slipped down to pump himself.

"Leon, faster…" Cloud begged, beginning to thrust up against Leon eagerly.

But the brunette kept it slow, moving his hips around until finally Cloud screamed, his back lifting off the bed, head flying back, eyes fluttering shut.

Grinning again, Leon finally quickened his pace, hitting Cloud's pleasure spot with each shallow thrust, enjoying the way Cloud just let his eyes roll back and his mouth hang open. The blonde just let his gasps and mewls out, not even trying to restrain them. He didn't have enough coherent brain processes to even consider staying quiet.

Only one word was worth thinking about.

"Harder…_harder_…" Cloud begged, his legs pulling around Leon's waist so he could meet the thrusts.

And he could feel it now as Leon complied to his request with a low grunt of Cloud's name. That searing _heat_ in his stomach of imminent release, that tightening coil about to snap.

Cloud gave his erection a squeeze and the heat exploded, hot seed splashing across his and Leon's abdomen, Cloud screaming Leon's name as the brunette continued to thrust wildly into his entrance.

And finally, Leon released into Cloud's tight passage, moaning the blonde's name without restraint, back hunching, sweaty forehead dragging down Cloud's chest to his stomach.

Both panting for breath, it took both of the several minutes to recover enough to remember they should separate.

Slowly pulling out of Cloud, Leon reached back to unlatch the blonde's legs from around his waist and laid beside his lover, disregarding the white cum splashed across them both.

Leon worked them both under the blankets and smiled sleepily at the content Cloud, who sported an afterglow quite beautifully.

"I think I forgot how nice bottoming feels." Cloud whispered, turning a bright smile towards Leon.

The brunette smiled as well, lifting a hand to brush some golden hair from Cloud's face. "I think I forgot how nice topping is. Mind if we do that again some time?"

Cloud shook his head with a chuckle. "Not at all." And with that, Cloud cuddled tightly against his boyfriend, smiling into his chest, eyes closed sleepily.

"I love you, Leon." Cloud murmured, drifting off to sleep.

Leon wrapped his arms around his blonde lover, smiling into his slightly flattened blonde spikes. "I love you, too, Cloud."

**TBC**

_Seriously Ali, how can you be sad after THAT pile of mansex right thur?!_

_Love ya!_

_Anyway…_

_Well the smex turned out better and way longer than I had anticipated. OO_

_Anyway! Long time no update, eh?_

_**Thanks go to **__Ania, Ghostly Green, Zoa, Leah, Froggy, Kauri, Takika, fullmetal naruto girl, Padfoot, Jeanne, Silver, Razor Athane, Becca, Axel-Seme, darkyuy, Rikku2233, Sophie, FatFreeBacon, kurosora1984, __**and **__Citrus__**!!**_

_Wow…I really missed writing this fic. This chapitre I finished in like…one day. Tis a beast. Just over 14 pages._

_Anyway! Schools out, I'm not extremely busy until next month. I'm getting my senior picture done EGADS and then it's Husky Week and then I have freshman orientation to do where I lead lil freshies around the school. Yup. nods School starts on July 28th…glorious, eh?_

_Anyway._

_Read, love, review, repeat!_

_Number, kupo,  
Aggie B._


	15. Be My Mirror, My Sword and Shield

Wooooooo

_**HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANIA24!!**_

_**How does being seventeen feel, love?! Yesh I did this for you! Yup yup yup! XD I loooove you, you lucky biznitch you for turning seventeen before me!!**_

_**HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANIA, YOU'RE AWESOME! ENJOY!**_

_Anyway, onwards._

**Chapter 15 (oh…mah gawd.)  
Be my Mirror, my Sword, and Shield**

"Bye guys!' Kairi cried, bending down to wave at Sora through the passenger window and blowing a kiss to Riku. "I had a lot of fun!"

As she ran up to the doors to her apartment building, Sora pulled away from the curb, turning around, and heading back across town to his apartment, grinning happily at the road ahead.

Turning the radio on, he hummed quietly along with the music, glancing at Riku frequently, happy as he saw the same smile resting on his boyfriend's lips.

They reached the apartments in comfortable silence, just enjoying each other, and walked up the stairs, fingers entwined, just smiling to themselves.

Finally at the top of the stairs, where their paths divided, Sora looked at Riku, made eye contact for the first time that evening, _true_ eye contact.

All night he'd been avoiding the connection with Riku, avoiding the kind of communication with him. He felt naked when they would, felt exposed to the world. And when he would establish that kind of connection with the silveret, there was no telling what he would do next.

He found it increasingly difficult to control himself, but Sora was starting to get a hold on his impulses.

"Sora." Riku whispered, touching the brunette's face, and Sora finally couldn't hold back.

He threw is arms around Riku's neck and kissed him, eyes shutting in pleasant bliss. Riku's hands rested on Sora's hips securely, thumbs moving in small circles as he hummed in approval, enjoying the calm contact.

Pulling away, Sora smiled up at Riku, lifting a hand to run it through silver silk.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Sora asked in a whisper, glancing down at his feet, blushing lightly.

"Of course." Riku replied, nuzzling his nose into Sora's jaw. That one gesture meant so much more than just mere physical contact.

'_I love you.' _That nuzzle said.

Sora swallowed thickly and kissed Riku's cheek. _'I know.'_

Pulling away, the happy brunette grinned hugely and slipped into his apartment quietly.

Turning around, blissful happiness covering his face, Sora was ready to go to bed and sleep, and most likely have some of the best sleep in his entire life.

Then his eyes landed on the couch and he cried out in shock, blue eyes shutting tight, hand clasped over his mouth.

Demyx screamed and jumped off the couch, tripping over the coffee table and hitting the floor with a heavy thud. Fortunately for Sora and Demyx both, the teen was still wearing his boxers.

Zexion, however, wasn't blessed with that last bit of clothing and made quick work of slipping those on, but without the screaming or the embarrassment.

"Jesus Christ, you two!" Sora cried, turning around so they could both get dressed. "You couldn't, like, move that to your _bedroom_ or something?!"

"Sorry, Sora!" Demyx cried, covering his face as the blush began traveling down his chest.

"I'm going to bed, bunnies. Don't be too loud." Sora muttered, hurrying down the hall to his room and shutting the door, holding back laughter.

-oOoOoOo-

Roxas sat, in shock, staring down at the book spread on the counter, knuckles turning white as he gripped his hands into fists tightly.

Swallowing thickly, the blonde flipped the page, choked and turned again.

The words were visual enough. No need for diagrams and illustrations yet.

Now Roxas wasn't inexperienced in the ways of sex, you don't date a girl for five years and _not_ get action. And he wasn't naïve to the world of gaydom. His brother just came out of the closet, and he's known Demyx and Zexion for as long as he's lived in his brother's apartment.

But somehow, he didn't connected sex…and homosexuality. Or how it happened. He never, _ever_ had to think about it.

He knew it happened. Who was he trying to fool? Seriously, Zexion pounded Demyx into the mattress the other night quite merrily _somehow_.

But he never found a reason to even try to find out how it happened.

And now, reading this innocent looking little book, his entire world snapped into place.

And now that he understood, that hamster on the little wheel in his head went into a seizure from the sudden bright colour of fantasies of Axel.

Oh yes, now that Roxas _knew_ how it happened, he could have a proper fantasy. Not that they were much help at work. If they'd ever be help at all.

"Now what is little Roxie reading?"

Screaming in probably _the_ most undignified manner, Roxas fell backwards off his stool, pulling the book down with him as he grabbed only it to catch him, and landing flat on his ass, legs tangled in the fallen stool.

Quickly opening the cupboard under the cash register, he threw the book in and slammed the door shut. Scrambling to his feet, his hand slapped the ancient piece of machinery Roxas' boss called a cash register, and the beast began to emit a high frequency scream that was best fixed by slapping _every_ key on the damn thing _at the same time_.

Finally composing himself and trying to act as if the past minute didn't exist, Roxas stood behind the counter, resting a majority of his weight on his left leg, left hand propping his torso up off the counter while he brushed his blonde hair out of his face with his right hand and put it to his hip while inhaling deeply through is nose.

And it was only Zexion.

"Fuck, Zexion! I thought you were Axel!" Roxas screamed, falling to the floor in a frustrated heap.

Zexion actually laughed out loud at that one. "You've grown jumpy in your grand escape of the closet."

"Shut the fuck up, Zexion." Roxas groaned, opening the cabinet to pull his book out, opening it back up with the full intention of ignoring the older, more experienced…male…in homo…sexuality. Roxas gasped, looking up at the man.

"What?" Zexion asked, genuinely confused, glancing around himself.

"Could I ask you for advice?" Roxas whispered as an elderly man walked into the shop.

The slate-haired man raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" Zexion asked in the same tone, glancing at the man.

"This is probably the most awkward book I've ever read in my entire life." Roxas said, waving it around. "It talks about this shit all scientifically and logically and quite honestly, I can't quite imagine it being pleasurable by the sounds of the logical standpoint, and—"

"You're not sleeping with Axel yet." Zexion said blunting, plucking the book out of Roxas' hand and looking at it. "Who let you check this out? I certainly wouldn't have."

"Tifa did." Roxas glowered. "And I'm not about to run off and sleep with Ax—"

"Good." Zexion said curtly.

"—I just want to be…prepared. Yuffie told me to research because I have _no_ idea what I'm doing. And what if _Axel_ doesn't even know what to do?" Roxas asked softly, looking down at the counter, shrugging. "And I'm just so confused about it all. I want to know what it's like."

Roxas looked up at Zexion in time to see the man purse his lips in thought. Finally, he shrugged, icy eyes looking around. "I guess Demyx and I could help out. You could also ask your brother."

The blonde laughed, nodding. "I guess…I just don't know how to get…Axel…with me."

Now Zexion smiled, and though Roxas had to admit the man was beautiful when he did so, he was actually quite afraid of that look.

"And I _know_ we can help with that." He said shortly before walking out of the shop, leaving Roxas in a slight shocked daze. It took Roxas about ten minutes to realize Zexion had walked out with his book.

-oOoOoOo-

Axel flipped open his cell phone, sighing sadly at the mocking two words.

'No Messages'

Scrolling in the menu, he saw 'No Missed Calls' and 'No Voicemails' and flipped his phone shut.

He'd only called Larxene once, had gotten her voicemail, and she had called back, once.

It was the day she left, and Axel had happily bounced into the bathroom, trying to ignore how awkward everyone seemed, and saw the glittering, damn-expensive engagement ring that belonged on his fiancée's finger.

She only called back to tell him to send it to her. She said nothing more, nothing less.

_Something_ had happened, and no one would come right out and say it.

And then, the next day, he goes to see Roxas at the gift shop and he's confronted with a hyperactive ninja-wannabe with a creepy boyfriend.

He was unreasonably disheartened to not see Roxas. The kid did wonders for his mood, and the blonde always listened to him, no matter how petty his current complaint was. And he didn't know _anyone_ that could make a better caramel cappuccino than Roxas.

So there he was, Roxasless after the heartbreak of finding Larxene's engagement ring, and then her not calling. Well, heartbreak was overdoing it. More worry, confusion, and anger.

He was worried about Larxene's apparent cold shoulder to him, confused as to _why_ she wasn't talking to him, and angry that nobody seemed inclined to _explain_ anything.

And _everybody_ was talking about Roxas, which made him worry about the boy, if the blonde was okay, and if he was, why the hell was everyone talking about him. Larxene, in their brief conversation, even asked "Is the Blondie okay?"

And it didn't help _at all_ that he didn't get to see Roxas to confirm that the boy was okay.

For god's sake, even _Riku_ was talking to him about Roxas. There had to be _some_ reason to worry.

Then at Namine's. Namine was drawing away, chattering away about Roxas, how gorgeous Roxas is and how beautiful his is half-naked, and Axel did allow his mind to wander along through those images. She kept talking about how nice he was under the façade of a smart ass and how _patient_ he really is. Then her voice would take this possessive turn whenever she would mention his naivety, and how easy it would be to toy with his emotions.

He definitely heard her warning, but he was clueless as to why she would be warning _him_ of all people.

Then Roxas randomly _appeared_, half-naked and half-asleep, babbling about staying the night with Namine. If Axel wasn't so frustrated about hearing the boys name so much, he'd have been elated to see the boy.

But something fiercely angry, and dangerously close to jealousy, so close to it in fact that it nauseated Axel, flared up inside him at seeing Roxas running around his ex-girlfriend's apartment, half-naked and sleepy.

So how much of people talking about him turned out to be just them merely thinking about how happy Roxas was once he had gotten back with the love of his life, Namine? And why did they have to pester Axel about it?

But as soon as he got home, he regretted just leaving Roxas alone with Namine, that bitter note in his voice ringing through the air, most likely making things awkward for the newly reunited couple.

Yes, the redhead beat himself up thoroughly for that one, and immediately set about cleaning, something that always kept his mind off of stupid things.

At some point, Riku got home and immediately broke into a long speech about how holding Sora's hand was better than sex, even though Axel stated he'd rather _not_ hear 'Sora' and 'sex' in the same sentence for it caused more than unwelcome visuals in his mind.

And that day, Axel went to the library to go to the gift shop, mostly to apologize for his attitude at Namine's apartment, but stopped before he entered the library period, looking in through the windows to see Roxas talking to Zexion.

And that blush that was dusting his youthful, barely out of adolescence cheeks, and Axel found himself captivated with that simple image of the boy. In that moment, Axel had to agree with Namine, had to admit it to himself. Roxas was _gorgeous_, especially when he smiled.

Axel went home that night, not even attempting to get off early enough to catch Roxas before the blonde went home, and crawled into bed, already anticipating the incoherent dream of his fiancée. He needed it to stay sane as he realized just how irrationally he began to view Roxas.

He needed that reassurance that he was still hopelessly in love with his fiancée. He needed that hope that it was just him noticing how beautiful the boy was, or something stupid.

He just _needed _that dream.

Too bad the night he needed the reassurance from an incoherent wet dream, said wet dream became _just_ coherent enough for Axel to realize that it wasn't about his blonde fiancée.

**-One Week Later-**

Roxas paced around in the living room of Sora's apartment, running a hand back through his hair, sighing heavily. He looked at Namine on the couch, blue eyes betraying the stress he was feeling.

Demyx leaned against the hallway wall, teal eyes following the slightly old boy's movements, briefly glancing at Sora, who stood in the kitchen doorway, worriedly.

The front door opened and everyone looked at it expectantly, tensely.

Cloud stood there, eyebrow raised, looking around at everyone. "Is this an intervention?" The tall blonde asked, frowning at Roxas' glare. "What has gotten you all uptight?"

"Asks the King of Uptight." Roxas muttered.

The older blonde bit his lip to keep from saying a rather crude comment depicting just how "uptight" he really was and looked at Sora. "What's going on?"

Sora sighed, crossing his arms, rolling his eyes. "Roxas is going to confess his love for Axel finally. We're waiting for Riku to come over and tell us that Axel's home."

Cloud looked around, shocked. "I leave you alone for two weeks and Roxas came out of the closet?"

"Don't forget Sora and Riku." Demyx cried happily.

Cloud wrinkled his brow in thought. "I think I knew at least _that_ one."

The front door opened again and Riku walked in, relaxed, and took his spot next to Sora. "It's a go."

"I don't think this plan will work." Sora said softly, concerned.

Roxas glared at his brother. "Why not?"

"I just…don't…"

Demyx sighed, running his fingers delicately through his mohawk. "Zexion's plans always work one way or another." Then he shrugged. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"Axel get pissed and throwing Roxas out?" Sora said suddenly, older brother mode kicking in.

"He won't get pissed _or_ throw him out, Sora. Let's just do this. I wouldn't have let this happen if there was a good chance of your brother getting hurt." Riku explained calmly, touching Sora's cheek. "Plus, it's not even that offensive of a plan."

Finally growing tired of the calm debate over the plan, Roxas walked out of the apartment, knocking loudly on Axel's door.

"Come in!" He heard a muffled, tired, and frustrated voice call out from inside the apartment, and Roxas took a deep breath.

'_You can do this, Roxas. Just remember the plan.'_ He thought calmly as he walked into the apartment.

Axel was sitting on the couch, hands behind his head as he lounged comfortably, his green eyes shut, mouth slightly ajar as he breathed.

Roxas sighed happily, just glad to have this moment to look at Axel. It may be the last time he was this privileged.

"Hey, Ax." Roxas said, shutting the door and shoving his hands into his pockets, looking away as the acid eyes flashed open, blistering his skin with just that one look.

"Rox." Axel breathed, and out of the corner of his eyes, Roxas could see the older man smile. "What's up?"

The blonde smiled at the floor. _'Remember the plan…' _He insisted to himself as he walked across the room to sit in his usual seat on the coffee table in front of the redhead. "Just wanted to hang out with you. I haven't seen you around that often. Everything okay?"

He heard Axel sigh and knew the man had closed his eyes. Roxas looked up bravely. He could do this if the man would just keep his eyes shut. Those eyes were just so…_intense_. Roxas knew he would barely be able to control himself if Axel were to open those gorgeous green orbs.

"Work is so time-consuming, right now." Axel groaned, rubbing his face with his palms. "Sorry, Rox."

Roxas made a noise in his throat to acknowledge the apology and the room fell into silence.

The blonde couldn't bring himself to finally do it. And every ticking moment made it that much harder.

"Blondie?"

Roxas looked up at Axel and sucked in a hissing breath as his blue eyes met Axel's green.

"What's wrong?" Axel asked, cocking an eyebrow, hand shooting forward to touch Roxas' forehead. "Are you sick?"

The blonde shied away from the touch, but Axel grabbed his shoulder tightly. "Rox, what's wrong?"

Roxas stared at the hand, eyes following up the arm, to the shoulder, to the long slender neck—Roxas had to lick his lips then—and then to Axel's thin, pale lips. Finally, Roxas made eye contact again and his brain began to sputter.

'_The __**plan**__! Stick to the plan! Talk to him first!'_ Roxas tried to reason with himself, but at that moment, his hand shot out and he grabbed a fistful of Axel's dirty shirt, pulling the older man close enough for him to close the distance.

And something took them both over, because it wasn't just Roxas moving to close the distance. It wasn't just Roxas clinging for dear life as lips met and tongues warred. It was just Roxas that groaned in appreciation.

And it _definitely_ wasn't Roxas that lifted himself and straddled Axel, at least it was Roxas that thought of standing and placing himself on the redhead's lap.

But as soon as Roxas settled in his new seat happily, Axel froze, eyes wide and unfocussed, slender fingers gripping the blonde's arms tightly.

And suddenly Roxas found himself shoved to the side onto the couch while the redhead jumped to his feet, running his hands back through his hair.

"Ax?" Roxas asked in a whisper, looking up at his redheaded friend in shock and hurt.

"Roxas!" Axel bellowed, covering his eyes. "What. Was that?!"

"Exactly what it seems like. I kissed—"

"Yeah, you kissed me! _Me_! A _man_! A full-grown, _engaged_ man!" Axel cried lowering his hands, though his eyes darted everywhere else, his tone far more desperate than actually angry. "You're not even _nineteen_—"

"I'm not being young or stupid, Axel, if that's what you're getting at!" Roxas bellowed back, standing up quickly, angry and hurt tears filling his big blue eyes.

"I'm _engaged_, Roxas!" Axel yelled again, pacing around. "_Engaged_! As in going to get married and have a house with a picket-fence and little baby Axel's running around! And you're with Namine—"

"I'm not with Namine, Axel!" Roxas cried. "We broke up a month ago with no intentions on getting back together!"

Axel crossed his arms, clearly not believing him. "Then why were you there, running around in your boxers?"

"Cuz I was there thinking about _you_!" Roxas yelled, the tears finally falling, but he wiped them away with vicious haste. "I can't concentrate for shit in Sora's apartment with you right here, next door. And I can think with a clear head around Namine. I was thinking about how to deal with this, with you, because I've completely…completely fallen for you." Roxas said, trailing off as he was unable to find a less trite way to describe his feelings.

The redhead shook his head, closing his eyes. "I'm engaged." He whispered again.

"For god's sake!" Roxas cried, frustrated, and threw his hands up in the air.

"And you're still only nineteen! Not even nineteen! I'm twenty-eight! This won't work out, at all!"

Finally Roxas turned away, walking towards the door. Stopping, he turned back around. "Why are you lying to yourself, Axel? Hmm? That dream you had that movie night? When we said you didn't say anything embarrassing? You did. You should know that by now.

"And the age thing you've got your panties in a twist about?" Roxas said, eyebrow raised. "Take one good _fucking_ look at Demyx and Zexion, _then_ speak to me about _fucking_ age!"

Axel stared in wonder at the tears flowing freely down Roxas' cheeks.

"And your engagement?" Roxas smiled bitterly, shaking his head. "Why don't you call your fiancée and talk to her about _that_, because I know she hasn't called since she left, has she?"

Roxas took Axel's silence for a yes and stormed out, slamming the door shut behind himself.

**TBC**

_Perfect place to end it. Yup yup yup!! Wooo! I was going to write more, but this just seemed like a good place to stop._

_That, and I'm an evil whore!_

_YUP!_

_HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANIA!_

_**Thanks go to **__Leah, kurosora, Razer Athane, Citrus, Jess, Kauri, TheNonExistentOne, lealayevergeen (OH EM GEE wut part of t3h az do you live?!), Axel-Seme, __**and**__ La Mims__**!!**_

_Thanks for reviewing!_

_Anyway…_

_Read, love, review, repeat!_

_Number, kupo,  
August Blue AKA Anonymous Prime._


	16. Fake It

_**TAKE THE POLLS ON MY PROFILE!!**_

_**If you read Key to My Soul, the one poll is of great importance to you. -:nods:-**_

_This is sort of dedicated to Zack because of the Phish Food part in this. He and I are in love with Phish Food!_

_Onwards._

**Chapter 16  
Fake It**

Axel leaned against the counter, one arm crossed across his middle while he chewed on a fingernail of the other hand. His green eyes stared at the ground, watching his tapping foot absently.

He had never been so god damn _confused_ in his entire life.

It wasn't so much the Roxas-is-a-guy-and-likes-me-and-I-have-wet-dreams-every-night-about-him thing. Definitely not. He decided he was bi _years_ ago in middle school after he and Marluxia experimented with each other.

Axel liked the feel of kissing a man, and wasn't repulsed by it, but Marluxia was a fickle bastard and they never got together. And shortly after Axel and his pink-haired friend broke off their "benefits" end of the friendship, Axel met Larxene and set about chasing her fine body around.

They never went all the way, no. Axel was young and stupid, but not _that_ young and stupid. In all honesty, he's only ever slept with Larxene and _one_ other girl after a particularly stressful, rough, and upsetting break up with Larxene.

He often hated having good looks. He was always judged to be a swinger.

When he was experimenting, he only really kissed Marluxia with the randomly placed gropings and whatnot. It was rather sloppy and juvenile, but Axel knew he liked it. But his obvious interest in Larxene meant that he could swing both ways.

What confused him was that Roxas was nine years _younger_ than him and Axel only knew the boy for a month.

And what really confused him _the most_, was the dreams.

He thought they were of Larxene to begin with—all that blonde and milky white skin, and the heat—but then the dreams became more detailed.

He realized that they weren't of Larxene _at all_. They were of someone younger, quieter, and their eyes were blue.

Axel always was more vocal during sex than Larxene, he'd admit that, but she did her fair share of noises. But this dream, the other person, his bed partner, was quiet, a light grunt and moan every now and then, a fluttering of eyelids.

He knew it was Roxas, even if he didn't see a face, but denied it so completely, he eventually convinced himself that, hey, it might be Namine! She's blonde, blue-eyed, and quiet! And younger!

But as soon as Roxas kissed him, and as soon as Axel pulled the younger man onto his lap, something clicked. He realized quickly, the realization so quick and strong that it couldn't possibly be denied, that Roxas was the one in the dreams, that Roxas was what the redhead desired more than his own fiancée.

And in a last ditch attempt at getting Roxas out of his head, out of his mind, he pushed the boy away.

The hurt on Roxas' face stabbed Axel's heart fiercely, and the way the boy left, in tears, shaking, hurt the older man beyond words. And he could hear the slamming of Roxas' front door, and the rising chorus of worried voices, and worst of all, the crying.

Faintly, he could hear the boys soft sobs, and he could hear Namine's voice clearly. She was the only female.

When everything next door went silent, Axel moved himself to the kitchen, to think.

He found himself tearing up once, but pushed them back, refusing to cry about it. He didn't have any right.

Axel looked up as soon as the front door opened and Riku walked in, running a hand back through his silver hair.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me, Riku?" Axel asked in a hiss, pushing away from the counter. "You just let me sit here this past week, wondering why Larxene—"

"You didn't have to push him away, Axel." Riku said with a glare, green eyes narrowed. "And it wasn't my place to say anything. But you hurt him _bad_ today, but for some reason he's still head over heels for you."

"Riku—"

"No!" Riku yelled, covering his ears. "I'm not _listening_ to you push the blame on someone else! _You_ fucked this up when it didn't require any fucking up!"

Axel shut his mouth, glaring. "What do I do?"

Riku pulled his hands away from his ears and looked down at them. "I suggest talking to Larxene, first. Then talk to Roxas."

Before Axel could react, though, Riku ran to his bedroom and slammed the door shut.

Axel sighed and pulled his phone out of his pocket, flipping it open and hitting speed dial one.

It rang twice before Larxene answered.

On the other end of the line, in the small town they were from, Larxene smiled at the phone. "Hello, Axel." She said, sitting down on Xemnas' couch, crossing her legs delicately.

"Larx, hey babe!" Axel said, trying to fake happiness that he just didn't have.

"Stop bullshitting yourself, Axel—"

"Yeah, you're right." Axel conceded quickly, rubbing his forehead with his free hand. "Are you free tomorrow. I really want to talk to you—"

"What's the matter with tonight, Ax?" Larxene was genuinely confused, quirking an eyebrow.

The redhead sighed heavily, leaning against the doorway to the kitchen. "I've had a long night. I just wanted to know if you were too busy to talk tomorrow."

Larxene picked at her nails absently while she thought, nibbling on her bottom lip. "I don't _think_ so. I have something planned, but I can still talk."

"Okay, how about seven?" Axel asked, eyebrows pulling together as he shut his eyes tightly.

"Sounds great. Talk to you tomorrow."

And Larxene shut her phone, grinning down at it before she jumped up, walking gracefully down the hall to her bedroom.

Axel, however, wasn't in as good of spirits.

-oOoOoOo-

"Axel…it's almost seven." Riku said softly, green eyes looking up at his friend.

The redhead glared at the silveret on the couch, fingers clutching the phone tightly in one hand. "Why do _you_ care?"

"Cuz my boyfriend will castrate you if you don't fix things quickly. And you're a bitch to deal with when you're sulking. And you _are_ my friend, you know, and seeing you suffering hurts." Riku rattled off quickly.

Axel sighed and shooed Riku off to his bedroom, unable to find enough energy to reply with some form of sarcasm.

He hit speed dial one and Larxene answered on the first ring.

"_Hey, Axel."_ She said calmly, and there was a loud crash in the background and a round of cursing.

"What was tha—"

"_Nothing. What's up?"_ Larxene sounded extremely amused.

"Um…it's about…us…our engagement and—"

"_And the fact that you want to bang with Roxas?"_

"I don't want to _bang_ with Roxas." Axel said sternly, not liking the sound of Roxas being spoken of that way.

"_You know what I mean, love."_

Axel nodded, even though he knew Larxene couldn't see him. "I'm sorry." Axel murmured, closing his eyes. "I am _so_ sorry, Larx. I really didn't mean to."

"_Yeah, hun, I know. Look, I'm totally okay with it. I've gotten over the initial burn of it, so it's easy sailing."_

The redhead snorted. "You have to be a bit upset. I mean, you turned me gay."

"_No I didn't. Roxas did."_

Axel didn't try to argue it. So they sat in silence for a bit.

"So…" Axel began, and Larxene made a small noise to acknowledge that she heard him. "What are you going to do?"

"_Well…"_ She began, exhaling slowly and sounding like she was about to go into a long explanation. _"I've decided that, to properly bitch and moan about our recent break up, everyone has to be with someone, which no one is."_

"Oh no…" Axel groaned, chuckling softly.

"_Oh yes."_ The redhead could hear her grin. _"Xemnas is drunk off his fucking ass, and Saix is on his way over. And I mean, Xemnas is __**drunk**__. More drunk than that guy we saw on our vacation to the Caribbean last summer."_

"Oh…that…Jack Sparrow guy? Impossible." Axel said skeptically.

"_It was CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow. And oh it __**is**__ possible. He's doing laundry. His __**own**__ laundry. He fired Marie and everything. It was great. So as soon as he started the laundry, I called Saix. It's gonna be amazing."_

"You know he's going to be pissed as hell when he wakes up tomorrow, right?" Axel asked.

"_He'll thank me." _Larxene said matter-of-factly. _"And I'm trying to get Vexen to finally come to his senses about his sexuality. Damn, he's stubborn. And Marly is obviously hounding after the creepy bastard, sooo…"_ And she trailed off, giggling.

Axel's eyes widened in horror. "What'd you do, Larxene?"

"_Tied Vexen to his bed…naked…and…locked Marluxia and him in the room."_ Then she went quiet. _"I'm actually afraid to go upstairs. Vexen's sorta…loud."_

"No need for the visuals, Larxene. Thank you." Axel said, contorting his face. "Wait…how did you manage to tie Vexen to the bed, let alone _naked_?"

"_Well, you know that taser you got me twelfth grade when that guy was stalking me?"_

"You _didn't_!" Axel gasped, eyes wide.

Larxene giggled. _"Oh yes I did. I was a __**ninja**__! The bastard didn't know what hit him until he hit the floor. Then the wrestling match ensued."_

"And you got his clothes off, how?"

"_Oh, he'd just gotten out of the shower. But I realized that __**after**__ I got him tied securely that we were still in Vexen's bedroom…and even though Marly wants him, he's still not about to go bounding in there. Sooo…I had to switch the beds."_

"With Vexen on it?"

"_Yup. Xemnas was already drunk enough to help me out, no questions asked."_

"You're insane."

"_That's why you love me, right?"_

They both sighed and fell into silence for a short moment.

"_What happened yesterday, Axel?"_ Larxene asked quietly, her voice taking a serious tone.

"Roxas…he kissed me." The redhead replied, scratching the back of his head.

"_And…?"_

"I pushed him away."

Larxene was quiet for a moment. _"Well that was stupid."_

"Really?!" Axel cried sarcastically, frustrated with himself. "I didn't realize that, even though the kid gave me an earful and left crying _and_ cried for I don't know how long after. Seriously, Larxene, I wouldn't have known—"

"_Hey, bastard, I'm actually __**trying**__ to give a shit about you here. You might wanna be nice to me."_

Axel sighed, shaking his head. "Sorry. I pushed him away because…I have _no_ idea what's happening to me right now."

"_Why'd you call me, Axel?"_

"Because…" Axel furrowed his brow. "Because I haven't officially broken up with you for one. And…I guess that's it."

"_Well you've done what you've called me for. You should __**really**__ talk to Roxas."_

Axel sighed again, closing his green eyes tightly as a headache began to build. "How?"

"_How about a familiar place for both of you? You know, so you're both comfortable, both relaxed, so both of you have a clear head to think with."_

Axel nodded, smiling. "I think I know a good place." Then he worried his bottom lip with his teeth. "You _sure_ you're going to be okay?"

Larxene laughed. _"Yeah, I'll be fine. Though I __**do**__ like this ring! Mind if I keep it?"_

Axel laughed as well, nodding though she couldn't see him. "Yeah, keep it. I actually used Xemnas' credit card cuz I was dead broke, so you can tell him I owe him nothing."

"_Got it memorized?"_ Larxene added, and he could hear her grin. Hear the amusement in her voice.

"I'll talk to you later, Larxene. I love you." He murmured.

"_Love you too. And Axel?"_

"Yeah?"

"_Go get him, tiger!" CLICK._

-oOoOoOo-

"Wow…I'd think he's even more emo than you, Vincent, if it were even _possible_."

"Yuffie." Came a deep warning voice, and Roxas slowly opened his eyes to glare at the girl who was leaning over the counter so their noses were almost touching.

Behind her was her longtime boyfriend. Roxas didn't know much about Vincent, other than he _used_ to be a cop, but now he did his own business. Very suspicious sounding, especially with him dating Yuffie and _everyone_ knew Yuffie's father dipped into the black market to bring home the bacon. The man was a genius, brilliant in many ways, and extremely sneaky. People have attempted to catch him, but have always failed to get substantial _proof_.

Roxas blinked at the girl a few moments before closing his eyes again and proceeding to ignore her.

"Hey _emo_ kid. What's up? You still haven't gotten you some Axel?"

"Yuffie, leave him alone."

'_Wow, the man can speak?'_ Roxas thought briefly, just to get his mind off of Axel, to distract himself from what Yuffie was saying, to distract himself from the building tears.

"No. Just because he can't get with Axel doesn't mean he can drag everyone else's mood down—"

"I told him. He literally pushed me away." Roxas muttered, opening glassy blue eyes to meet Yuffie's. "Are you happy now?"

Yuffie stood up straight, scratching the back of her head, puzzled, as Roxas closed his eyes again. "I'm really sorry, darling. I really thought you know—"

"I know what you fucking _thought_ Yuffie! And I let myself believe it myself!" Roxas cried, covering his face with his hands. "I let this stupid…daydream get to me, and I believed _everyone_. Everyone thought Axel had it for me, too. What if it was just _one_ dream he had? And here I am running after him?"

He felt Yuffie touch is shoulder, the tentative, comforting squeeze, but he didn't want any of it. Grunting, he slapped at the hand blindly, knowing the tears would fall if he opened them.

"Fuck…what if he did call Larxene after all and…and worked it out with her and I came onto him. How _pissed_ must he be? How humiliated? I mean, I just royally _fucked_ over our friendship with that stupid stunt I pulled last night." Roxas whispered, letting his hands fall to his lap, palm-up. Sighing, Roxas opened his eyes and looked up at Yuffie.

Who stood in her place was Namine, smiling calmly. Yuffie stood off to the side, looking at the toes of her knee-high white Converse, wiping a tear from her right eye.

"Nami?" Roxas whispered, confused.

She just smiled. "Why are you working late, Roxas?"

The blonde boy shrugged. "I don't want to go home." He muttered, shrugging again, looking at the gorgeous vomit-green counter-top.

"Come over to my place. You need some pampering in your state of distress." Namine giggled, grabbing his hand tightly in hers.

"I'm not a girl Nami—"

"So?" Namine questioned, tilting her head with a scolding look on her face. "That speech obviously shows that you are in such a state of emo that some Phish Food is to be eaten, either by your own free will, or me pinning you to the couch and forcing it down your throat with the use of a turkey baster."

**(A/N: Oh…mah…gawd…I am writing this…to Quinton Flynn and Jeff Nimoy's Yaoi Song…-.- this is amazing. "We're not gay, no we're not gaaaaaAAAAaaaaaa**_**aaaaaaaayyyyy**_**yyyyyyyy." Oh my gawd it is SO FUCKING HILARIOUS. Quinton Flynn as in Axel's voice. XD Rant at the end of my update about Yaoi and Quinton Flynn…back to the story.)**

Roxas sighed, closing his eyes. "You just _had_ to mention the Phish Food, didn't you?"

Namine grinned. "Of course."

Roxas groaned and stood up, walking into the back room to grab is bag and follow Namine out.

-oOoOoOo-

"What's with all this mail, Namine?" Roxas asked, flipping through a whole stack of envelopes, none of them addressed to Namine or Kairi.

"Oh!" Namine exclaimed. "I forgot about all that." She murmured, glancing away from the road briefly to look at the mail in Roxas' hands. "I've been collecting the mail for a friend a few floors up. She just got back from vacation yesterday, so I have to take that all to her, and drop off her keys."

They parked, and as they walked into the building, she handed Roxas her keys. "You go make yourself at home, feel free to whip out the ice cream, I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Okay." The blonde man said with a smile as he hit the button for Namine's floor, and she hit the button for two floors above her own. "And do not call Phish Food such a derogatory term as 'ice cream'. That implies…mediocrity. Phish Food is the food of the _gods_, Namine."

Namine giggled. "Okay, Roxas."

The hallway to Namine's apartment was silent, except for the sound of the air conditioning running, and he relished in the quiet. It was comforting, and it was calming enough that he forgot everything that was plaguing his mind.

Once in Namine's dark apartment—he only mildly cared where Kairi wasn't there—he made a bee-line for the freezer, sighing happily in the bright glow of the freezer light at seeing glorious Phish Food.

Grabbing the small tub, he cheered as he saw _another_ carton of the godly substance that was hiding before.

He grabbed a spoon and flicked on the light, leaning forward against the counter as he dug into his treat, listening to the buzz of the fluorescent light.

Humming in satisfaction as a fudge fish surrounded with chocolate ice cream, caramel, and marshmallow cream melted away on his tongue, he dared to think that this was probably higher on his list of Holy Foods than authentic lasagna.

The ultimate frozen treat, the ultimate comfort food. The kind that made you forget that you were dumped, or straight out rejected by the only person you really, truly, _deeply_ wanted.

And Roxas stopped eating, staring down at his spoon as he swallowed a scoop of pure marshmallow.

Axel really _was_ the only person he ever _desperately_ wanted, that he was willing to risk _everything _for. Namine, it was a simple crush. He met her at freshman orientation and back then, that was what love was. It wasn't this gut-wrenching, heart-throbbing, brain-freezing _need_ like what he felt for Axel.

For love, for _Axel_, for just one _taste_ of what it was like to hold Axel, kiss Axel, be with Axel, Roxas risked his dignity, their friendship, and Axel's _trust_.

And guess where that got Roxas?

It got him here, in his ex-girlfriend's kitchen scarfing down Phish Food, regardless of the ridiculous, off-the-charts calories this dessert must be packing, and wanting the bottle of wine in the fridge.

Roxas scooped more ice cream into his mouth swallowing quickly as sharp pain shot up the left side of his face, pooling in his left temple and slowly spreading across to the middle of his forehead.

The worst brain freeze he had ever experienced was just the icing on the fucked up cake that was his life right now.

"Fuck!" He bellowed, throwing his spoon in frustration as he grabbed his forehead desperately, trying to stop the fast spreading agony.

Closing his eyes, he turned around and slid down to the floor, still clutching his head. "Some one kill me. Right. Now." He whispered as tears built, the pain slowly slipping away.

"Roxas?"

The blonde's eyes shot open to look up at the man standing in the entrance to the kitchen, worried green eyes locking with stunned, teary blue.

The sudden movement of Roxas' head jerked the tears free, gravity pulling them down to leave salty, wet trails. "Ax…" He whispered, pulling himself to his feet and looking back at his ice cream on the counter. "Axel." He corrected.

"Rox—"

"I didn't hear you come in." The younger male said shortly, his hand wiping away the tears rolling down his face. Now that they were free, they weren't stopping. "Namine's not here, if you're looking for her for something, but—"

"Roxas—"

"—she'll be back in a bit. Um, I was just over to hang out for a bit." Roxas continued, swallowing thickly. "Um, I'll just be in her room. Feel free to turn on some lights."

Roxas grabbed his Phish Food, retrieved his spoon and moved to push past Axel, but the older man grabbed his wrist.

"Roxas! Let me just—"

"No!" The younger male yelled, wrenching his wrist free from Axel's grasp. "Just _stop it_, Axel!"

And Roxas hurried down the hall, about to open Namine's bedroom door when a large, slender hand grabbed his shoulder and wrenched him back around, the carton of partially melted ice cream slipping from the blonde's fingers and hitting the floor.

"Roxas, just _listen_ to me!" Axel begged, his free hand coming up to grab Roxas' other shoulder.

"_No_! I understand perfectly well, Axel!" The younger man cried, shoving the redhead away. "It was just _one_ stupid dream and it just happened to be the one night everyone was there to hear. It just fed into every single one of my stupid daydreams, and created some stupid fantasy that drove me into screwing up our friendship—"

"Please, Rox—" Axel whispered, reaching forward to touch Roxas' face.

"My _god_, Axel, just shut _up_!" Roxas begged, slapping Axel's hand away. "You don't know how much I wanted you, _want_ you. Jesus, Axel, it…hurts how bad I want you, to be with you, just…I've _never_ wanted something this much. You have no idea what I _did_ to even figure out what was going on, so I'd be prepared to make my decision."

Roxas laughed bitterly as he looked down at the mess on the carpet. "I didn't want to come off as some lovesick _child_ to you, some inexperienced _twit_ or something. I wanted…I wanted to be at some sort of equal ground as you, I wanted you to think I was more than a kid. That maybe if I _knew_ what I was getting into, you'd look past the age."

The apartment was silent as Axel took in the information. Roxas could tell the man was a bit confused as he could see him fidgeting slightly.

Then he gasped. "Roxas, you didn't…_do_ anything—"

"No!" Roxas cried, looking up at Axel, locking eyes, shaking his head. "No, Ax! Axel…" Roxas corrected himself again, looking away. "I…I did some reading…_a lot_ of reading. I read probably _the_ most embarrassing books, and autobiographies, and just about _everything_. I talked to Demyx and Zexion, I even talked to Riku. I called Hayner up and just…everything. I wanted to come into this…prepared, if nothing else."

The blonde sighed. "And…I was going to tell you _all_ of this, and even about the dream, and ask you if everything was okay, and _then_ kiss you. But obviously I skipped a few steps, and I'm sorry." Roxas looked away, and was relieved as he finally tuned back in that he wasn't crying anymore. "I shouldn't have come onto you like that."

When the older man stayed silent, Roxas deflated a bit. "I have to clean this up. It's probably already stained." And he hurried into the kitchen to grab a cloth and search for some club soda. **(A/N: club soda; it lifts stains and removes odor! I swear! Whenever the dogs would puke or pee on the carpet, we club soda-ed it and stain and odor, gone!)**

After wiping as much of the ice cream up off the carpet as he could, Roxas poured the club soda on the brown stain and watched as the fizz grew into a foam and waited until it calmed down.

"Roxas, will you listen to me now?"

Axel was crouching down next to him, holding out a towel. "Please?" He whispered again, green eyes begging, lips set in a frown.

Roxas grabbed the towel and nodded, looking down at the still fizzing soda on the carpet. "I've calmed down enough, I guess."

Roxas could hear Axel chuckle and the blonde had to fight a shudder. He loved that sound, even in his darkest moments, he could find enjoyment in that simple sound.

"Rox, I've been having this dream since…we started talking. I thought it was about Larx because all I could remember the next morning was blonde hair and pale skin. It was never exactly clear. But deep down, I _knew_ it was you…and deep down I _knew_ I was in love with you.

"But I was engaged." Axel murmured quietly. "And that sorta covered up what I felt for you. It wasn't until recently that…I realized they weren't about Larxene, that I finally accepted they weren't about her. But I still couldn't admit it was you."

Roxas put the towel over the stain and pushed down until he felt dampness under his palms.

"When you kissed me Roxas…I couldn't deny it anymore. That damn kiss felt so remarkably good…and I was so shocked, and terrified, and unprepared." Axel laughed slightly, shaking his head. "I want you, too, Roxas, I really do, but last night I was just too stunned."

The redhead sighed slightly, watching as Roxas dabbed at the faded brown spot on the white carpet. The blonde poured more club soda, filling the silence with fizzing.

"Rox, I might be older, but I'm just as…_confused_ about this as you are, and—"

Roxas lifted his head, and Axel barely noticed the smirk before the younger male surged forward and pressed his lips against Axel's. One hand lifted from the towel to grab a fistful of the front of Axel's shirt, the other going to the flaming red spikes.

Groaning, Axel closed his eyes, opening his mouth slightly, hands moving across the space between them to grab Roxas' knees, the fizzing club soda sending tiny drops up into the air, covering the redheads wrists and forearms with moisture.

Slipping his tongue into Axel's mouth once, Roxas pulled away, ignoring the suddenly painfully tight grip on his knee caps.

The blonde smiled as the redhead opened his eyes. "I'm not confused about _this_ anymore. I _know_ I want you, I know that I'm falling in love with you. And you want me?"

Axel nodded softly, thumbs rubbing soft circles on Roxas' knees.

"You…love me?"

Axel smirked a bit. "Getting there, I think."

Then Roxas grinned, letting go of Axel to grab the towel and dab at the brown stain again.

"Then that's all we need to know right now. We'll figure the rest out as we go."

**TBC**

_**TAKE THE POLLS ON MY PROFILE!!**_

_Yeah…this chapter was…mediocre. I dunno, I'm not exactly interested in the AkuRoku in this fic. It's mostly the SoRiku and Cleon I care about. Even the Zemyx is blah._

_Anyway! My rant that I mentioned in an authors note in the middle of the chapter!_

_There are all these videos at con's of fangirls asking Quinton Flynn to say stuff like "I love you Roxas" and "Roxas take your pants off" and other…stuff…and I think that is WRONG!_

_Okay, I am an AkuRoku fangirl to the max, I admit it, and I think it's hilarious when cosplayers make out (oh those silly cosplayers! Lawls) and I __**love**__ fanfiction and fanart…but it's going way to far to ask Quinton Flynn to say all this yaoi stuff because HE'S NOT AXEL! He just happens to be the voice actor of Axel. Fer seriously. Leave 'im alone._

_Yeah yeah, it's cute to be able to actually __**hear**__ what it'd sound like if Axel declared is love for Roxas but…no. NO._

_Rant over with…I love the videos of him making fun of fangirls. Lol._

_Fangirl: Can you please say "Roxas, take your pants off." ??  
Crowd: YEAH! DO IT! DOOO IIIIT!  
One guy in the whole crowd: NOOO DON'T DO IT!  
Flynn: …Roxas…put your pants on._

_LOL. I love him. He's so funny._

_**ANYWAY!!**_

_**In celebration of almost 120 pages, I do detailed thanks!**_

_**-:THANKS GO TO:-**_

_Razer Athane: I'm glad you like those parts, they were personally my favourite to write. XD and which other fic?? I'm currently working on two others. KtMS, that one I'll update once I figure out which part I want to write first…I'll be putting a poll up. Dead Man Tells No Tales, there is a BEAST chapter coming up. I kid you not, it is made of insanity the next chapter is…_

_TheNonExistentOne: As it is answered in this chapter…no…the plan __**wasn't**__ played out perfectly…it actually sort of…exploded. Lawls. Zexion's OOC in this fic…but whatever…it's a GOOD OOC!_

_Kitty-Cat-Kauri: I know, right? Hope you like how this played out!_

_Delayed-Reaction: Yeah…I really liked that somewhat cliffhanger right thur…yup. :)_

_Darkyuy: UPDATE! Lol. You like it?_

_Jess: Wow…you really…like you're AkuRoku, don't you? Lol!_

_Ania: HEY GIRL! WUZZ UP? See you…like…Tuesday. LAWLS_

_Leah: I can't marry you darling…I'm sorry. I'm already married, and I don't practice polygamy. :(_

_Kurosora: Love, we all know that sex would be too much to ask of the two of them right now at this stage of their relationship. -:nods:- el oh el._

_Zoa: …I pmed you. Yup…_

_Citrus: that was a great place to leave it! And I lurv writing fluff! :3_

_La Mims: are you my sister?! She says "shiver-giggle" all the time! Like she's shivering and giggling and just flat-out spazzing in her seat. O.o Lol jaykay. And I pmed you…but I actually decided to change Zexion's age. -:nods:- since I haven't come right out and said it._

_Medic Droid Baby: O.O wow…evil whore to good author? THANK YOU! I LUHV YOU TOO!_

_Paddy: Thank you very much, oh faithful reader!_

_Silver: Yes…I am evil._

_Ghostly Green: Was this ASAP enough?_

_Sad kuroneko: Oh yes I did. I did indeed._

_Lealay evergreen: oh my, I must be evil…and I like…emailed you and such._

_Echo in the Dark: was it really that evil?! Lol_

_Lightning Sage: If I were Zexion, I'd come out of me emo shell and be emotional about Demyx too. Seriously, Demyx is the love of his life, yo! And Riku is supposed to be a bit…confusing. And Tokio Hotel rocks!_

_Fullmetal naruto girl: Well, if you were Roxas, and you just kissed the man of your dreams and he shoved you away and proceeded to yell at you, would you sugar coat anything? Lol_

_And of course Ali who texted me and called me a hooker. O.O yesh…she called me a hooker for leaving that chapter where it was._

_**-:THANKS FOR REVIEWING! I LOVE YOU ALL!:-**_

_Okay cuties, I'm outta here!_

_Read, love, review, repeat!_

_Number, kupo,  
August Blue_


	17. Hot 'N Cold

_**TAKE THE POLL ON MY PROFILE!**_

_Hunter had a baby…-:growl:-_

_Anger…to the max. Zack's right…does anyone know of a birth control for male muses?_

_I might take this baby and run with it or just let Magic and Hunter deal with it._

_Anyway!_

_God I'm such a hooker for this chapter…siiigh…_

_Anyway!_

_**Happy 10,000 hits! Happy 200 reviews!**_

_**HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALI!**_

_ONWARDS!_

**Chapter 17  
Hot 'n Cold**

"Where the _hell_ is Namine?" Roxas realized after about an hour of sitting on the couch and eating ice cream with Axel.

"Oh…yeah." Axel murmured, chuckling. "I wanted to talk to you, so I had Namine lure you here."

Roxas swiveled his head to look at the redhead next to him. "What? Why here?"

"You're comfortable here. You said you have a clearer head here. I was actually already here when you came in." Axel laughed, looking at Roxas happily, his grin huge.

The young blonde just smiled back, leaning forward to kiss the man briefly, chastely, innocently.

"Should I call her and tell her we've kissed and made up?" Axel whispered, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket.

Roxas chuckled softly, grabbing the phone out of Axel's hand and putting it on the coffee table, shaking his head. He grabbed Axel's ice cream as well and put it on the table next to the cell phone.

"I think we need a bit more kissing." Roxas whispered against Axel's ear as he crawled onto the older man's lap.

-oOoOoOo-

"Hey Riku?" Sora murmured quietly from where he lay.

He and Riku were lying on Sora's bed, Riku on his back, Sora on his side next to the silveret, one arm around the other man's waist.

"Hmm?"

Riku was having one of his rare withdrawal relapses. They took to calling them episodes, what with the rarity of them. This particular one wasn't that bad, really. He just started shaking a bit and admitted to craving the drugs.

Sighing, Sora continued. "Why _did_ you leave after sixth grade?"

Riku huffed in some sort of laugh, lacing his fingers together behind his head and closing his eyes. "My parents passed away, so I went to live with my brother, Xemnas. And that's where life went to _shit_."

Sora lifted his head to stare at his boyfriend's face, glad to see that Riku was still wearing a small smile. "What do you mean?"

Riku shrugged and opened one aquamarine eye to look down at Sora. "Xemnas was always busy, so he never paid much attention to me. He is _a lot_ older than me and he was busy getting _extremely_ rich on top of the inheritance he received after my parents' deaths.

"He has this huge house that only the two of us shared. Larxene would stay sometimes to get away from her parents. My aunt and uncle or outright _bitches_. Then she would bring Axel around and soon a hell of a lot of people would be staying at the house at a time."

Riku closed his eye and sighed heavily. "And that's when I met Xig."

"Who?" The brunette questioned, eyebrow raised.

"Xigbar. He's a couple years older than Axel and Larxene. He was really cool, silent, sneaky, passed under the radar effortlessly. That's probably why he's an awesome drug dealer."

Riku laughed as Sora sat bolt-upright. "Your drug dealer is a friend of Axel and Larxene's? Do they know this?"

"Nope. And I don't intend on telling them. I haven't seen him since I moved here, anyway. I hooked up with another guy. Of course his price was higher, but I didn't really care. Drugs are drugs. But Xig…he taught me everything I know about the stuff." Then Riku sighed sadly. "Though I was much more controlled back then."

Sora raised an eyebrow. "And you had money for the shit, even while you were there?"

"Xigbar was cool enough to lower the price, but he'd usually demand something in return for his trouble." Now Riku opened his eyes, looking at Sora with a seriousness that shoved all of Sora's doubt to the back of his mind. "I've done a lot of stuff that I'm not very proud of, Sora. I'm not going to deny that, but I swear I never slept with Xigbar. He would _never_ make me, _never_ ask it, and I would _never_ say yes."

The brunette nodded mutely, swallowing harshly.

"Anyway, Xigbar gave me a taste of the party scene, and moving back here to boredom central was too much for me to handle. I got into it _heavy_ here right after high school. I found a steady dealer at the end of senior year, but it wasn't until I graduated that I took up the shit." Riku explained calmly, like this was a completely normal conversation.

"Are you…glad you're clean?" Sora asked, lying back down.

Riku grinned, wrapping his arms tightly around his boyfriend. "If it means I get to keep you, hell yeah."

Sora smiled as the silveret pulled him into a warm, secure, and tight bear hug. It was hard to explain how that embrace felt. It was safe, that was for sure, and his heart felt as though it were swelling, about to burst, and this heated feeling pooled in his face and slowly trickled down onto his neck, warming his chest and causing his heart to clench and spazz.

Looking up at Riku's face, Sora smiled brightly, and the silveret smiled back, one of his hands moving to touch his face. And then Riku gave Sora's jaw _that_ nuzzle. The nuzzle that meant so much more than mere physical contact.

'_I love you'_ Riku was proclaiming, and Sora knew just how much the other man wanted to hear it back.

Sora kissed Riku's cheek and sighed. "I love you, Riku." He whispered, gasping at the wonderful feeling of the words on his tongue. "I love you, so much."

Riku tensed before pushing Sora back at arms length to look him in the eye. "What?" He whispered, a real smile coming to his face, that smile that Sora loved the most, the one that was only ever directed to him, the smile that outshone anything, anywhere. "What did you say?"

"I…I love you." Sora repeated, smiling as well as pure happiness flooded his boyfriends beautiful eyes.

"Oh my god, Sora I love you, too!" Riku gasped, pulling Sora into a fierce, passionate kiss.

Fire ignited in Sora's soul, and he groaned as it travelled from his lips right down to his toes, quick as lightning. Heat pooled in his gut and he arched into Riku's body, seeking contact.

And Riku rolled so Sora was on his back. With one leg between Sora's, he continued to plunder the brunette's mouth with his tongue, his thigh brushing against his lover's groin.

Sora moaned deep in his throat and turned his face to gasp for air. Riku continued to kissed Sora, moving his lips along the brunette's cheek and down to the long, slender neck.

But Riku continued down, stopping to suckle at the nape of Sora's throat, one hand hiking Sora's shirt up, the other unbuttoning the brunette's fly.

"Riku, maybe we should stop…" Sora gasped, blushing at the thought of Demyx hearing anything.

"Oh god, Sora…please don't stop me now." Riku begged, slipping down Sora's lithe body to kiss the man's chest and stomach. "Please…I've been holding back for so long."

Riku continued to kiss his way down, his tongue flickering out to tease Sora's navel, smirking at the other man's shudder.

"If you want to stop because you're not ready, I'll stop…" Riku whispered against Sora's soft skin, green eyes gleaming hungrily through wispy bangs as he pulled Sora's pants down to mid-thigh, leaving the baby blue boxers in place for the time being.

"But if it's just because you're embarrassed…well then…" Riku chuckled and kissed lower, slowly pulling Sora's boxers down, stopping just before his lover's obvious arousal was revealed completely. "That's something we really need to work on."

Sora was shaking, with fear or arousal, he was sure. Both? He definitely wasn't ready for sex, and he wasn't sure if he was even ready to return any favor to Riku. They had kept their relationship to strictly kissing. But his body was beginning to hate this arrangement, for every night he would find himself relieving himself of the sexual tension that being around Riku caused.

"Riku…" Sora moaned, fisting his hands into the blankets, shaking his head. "I don't think I'm ready for…sex."

"I know." Riku whispered, looking up at the brunette.

Sora shook his head. "And I don't know if I'm ready to return any…favors."

"I know." The silveret murmured again, nibbling on Sora's sensitive skin, pulling on the boxers a bit. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course." The brunette replied immediately, gasping as one of Riku's hands moved to touch his erection through the soft material of his boxers.

Then Riku moved his mouth to the clothed appendage, lightly brushing his tongue against it.

Sora groaned loudly, clenching his eyes shut.

"Will you let me do this?" Riku whispered heatedly, smiling as Sora nodded quickly, blue eyes opening.

Riku loved this new look to Sora. While he adored the wide-eyed innocent appearance, he couldn't help but fall in love with this new, lustful, _hot_ Sora, with his blue eyes almost completely consumed by pupil, mouth partly opened, eyelids at half-mast.

Pulling Sora's boxers down completely, Riku groaned at the sight of his lover's erection, his eyes rolling back as he couldn't hold back any longer.

Sora arched off the bed, crying out as he was surrounding in moist heat, fingers tangling in silver hair. This was far more than Sora really expected, far more than he even dared to _dream_ of.

All the heat, and the pleasure, and the _hunger_ for more. More of what, he didn't know, just _more_.

"Riku…" He gasped as his hips bucked upwards against his will, but Riku managed to pull away before gagging. "Please!"

Smirking, Riku returned to his delicious treat, hands holding the slender hips down, as he added a harsh suction.

Sora arched again, eyes rolling back into his skull, mouth falling open, tears collecting as the intensity built, the flame in his very soul being fed by every flick of Riku's tongue, every scrape of teeth against the most intimate part of his body, every vibration sent through his body from Riku's moans and groans.

And then he felt it, the tensing of his body, the hardening of his already painfully rigid dick, and he pulled on Riku's hair.

"Coming…I'm coming!" Sora cried, thrashing his head and curling his toes as he continued to pull on Riku's hair.

But instead of pulling away, Riku opened his throat and pushed down, deep-throating his lover and moaning around the organ in his mouth.

And Sora came with a strangled cry, eyes clenching shut as his back arched painfully, fingers spread across the back of Riku's head, tears slipping from his eyes and running down into his hair.

Sora gasped for breath as he collapsed, sated and spent, legs that he hadn't realized he bent falling flat, his toes uncurling.

Riku released Sora's member, sitting up between the brunette's legs to smile happily. Wiping his mouth quickly, Riku quickly pulled Sora's pants and boxers off and took advantage of Sora's relaxed, limp state to pull the other male's shirt off.

It was easy enough for Riku to will away his arousal. Though the sounds Sora made were absolutely delicious and feeling Sora shudder and quiver by his hand—or mouth in this case—was amazing, Riku didn't particularly enjoy giving head, so he didn't get turned on to the point of no return.

So by the time he stripped himself down, his body was calmed and he was able to cuddle up to Sora without making the other man uncomfortable.

Working the blankets out from under them, Riku covered both of them and wrapped his arms around his waist.

"Mm…Riku, why are we naked?" Sora asked dreamily, eyes closed, relaxed.

"Why get you dressed just for you to get up and get undressed to just get dressed into pj's?" Riku asked, closing his eyes.

"Point." Sora yawned. "Sorry that I can't do anything for you yet…"

"It's okay, babe." Riku whispered against Sora's neck, kissing it lightly. "I'm fine…it _is_ okay that I stay the night, right?"

"Of course." Sora said with a content smile, opening his eyes to look at Riku. "Now lets sleep."

Riku nodded and nuzzled against Sora's jaw. "I love you, Sora."

Sora kissed Riku's cheek. "I know, I love you, too, Riku."

**-:Two Weeks Later:-**

Leon stared at the picture frame on the coffee table, quirking an eyebrow at the picture. "Cloud, where'd this picture come from?"

Cloud paused on his way to the door, looking at the picture his boyfriend was referring to.

It was a cute little picture of Leon and Cloud together, hugging each other, Zack in the background giving them bunny-ears.

Cloud smiled softly, looking at Leon. "Aerith took it. She sent it in the mail and I got a frame for it yesterday. Do you like it?"

Leon turned a smirk on Cloud and nodded. "I love it."

The blonde beamed for a brief second before scowling playfully. "God Leon, you're such a woman."

"Shut up, Strife." Leon muttered, glaring softly. "Don't you have shopping to do, you manly man, you?"

"Go to hell." Cloud growled, opening the door.

"Hey Cloud." Leon said softly. His blonde lover stopped and looked over his shoulder. Leon smiled. "I love you."

Cloud smiled back and nodded. "I love you, too."

And he walked out, shutting the door behind himself. Leon strolled over and flicked the dead bolt into place before turning back to the picture on the coffee table.

Hurrying to his bedroom and opening his closet door, he pulled down a red toolbox from the shelf and went back out to the living room.

Opening it, he pulled out a stud-finder, his hammer and a nail and went to work finding a place to hang the picture on the wall that the couch was against. But he paused at seeing a hole in the wall where a nail was once placed, a whiter rectangle on the old wall centered to the couch.

Rinoa. It was Rinoa's picture that hung there, a professionally done picture of the two of them. Her parents had insisted they do it, and the couple swayed to the pressure.

The picture was stiff, unemotional, calm, sedate, like Leon. It was them sitting together, Leon against a "wall" with his legs bent, Rinoa seated between his legs, a smile on her face as Leon had his arms wrapped around her face. If you didn't _know_ Rinoa, you'd think she was happy.

But Leon knew, as he looked at that picture everyday when he woke up, that something was eating his love inside, something was making her unhappy.

Those haunting eyes accused him everyday as he walked about his apartment, and he knew something was going to eventually happen between the two of them.

But he didn't expect something like Rinoa cheating on him. The bite in the ass from that betrayal stung, and it stung bad.

_She_ was the one that forced her love on him, _she_ was the one the pulled him out of his happy, isolated shell, and _she_ had the nerve to cheat on him and accuse him of not loving her enough.

He loved her more than _anything_, except Cloud. He love Cloud so much more than he ever loved Rinoa.

So now he thanked Rinoa's infidelity, for if she hadn't ditched him, he would probably still be living with her, loving her halfway, and would have never met Cloud in the first place because he and Rinoa would have gotten married and moved back to her hometown like she wanted to. And if they hadn't done that, they would have at least moved to a better part of town, Leon wouldn't have taken up smoking, and he would probably have a couple children by now.

He laughed as he thought of actually calling her and actually thanking her.

Picking up the nail and the hammer, he put the nail into the existing hole and hung the picture.

This one, of himself and Cloud, was _real_. It wasn't taken in a stiff studio by a grumpy photographer screaming commands. It was in a _real_ field, with _real_ smiles, and it was just _real_. The love Leon could see in Cloud's eyes was real, as real as the happiness and love he felt in his heart just looking at the picture.

He loved Cloud, so much.

Deciding it was best to get ready for the day, seeing as he was still in his pajamas and he had work that night. And as manly as he wanted to come off as, he was still a bit big on vanity and _hated_ feeling dirty.

-oOoOoOo-

Zexion sat in the café with Axel, watching him over the rim of his cappuccino. "So…what's up?"

"I have the day off and felt like hanging out with someone. Rox has work and everything." Axel sighed, leaning back in his chair and sipping at his iced tea.

"So you guys are together?"

Axel quirked an eyebrow, laughing. "Zex, it's been about two weeks since we got together. We're the hell have _you_ been?"

"Busy" Zexion answered shortly, putting his caffeinated beverage down and crossing his arms. "Have you slept with him?"

Zexion gasped as Axel's cheeks barely dusted pink as it was the first time the slate-haired man had _ever_ seen the older man blush.

Zexion had known Axel since high school, though he was about three years younger than him. Zexion had been extremely smart, so he skipped a couple grades and graduated a year after Axel and Larxene.

He didn't associate with Axel's _group_ of friends, they all seemed like idiots, but he did know Axel and had AP Chemistry with the man.

"No…we haven't yet." The redhead muttered, as if it were hard to admit.

"Good." Zexion said shortly before smirking devilishly. "But who takes the lead in everything you do?"

Axel coughed and looked down at his iced tea.

The younger male's eyes widened. "Roxas?" Zexion gasped, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

The redhead glared. "Whoever starts whatever we're doing leads it…it's like this unspoken rule we have…and Roxas is still a bouncing ball of hormones…" Axel grumbled.

"And you have a problem with this?" Zexion asked, raising an eyebrow high on his forehead.

"No, not at all." Axel smiled now, eyes growing distant as he was obviously having some nice memory. Then he pouted. "He called me 'Old Man' once when I told I was too tired to make out with him…"

Zexion shrugged. "Demyx does that to me sometimes as well."

"You're only…like…twenty-five."

"So?" Zexion asked, going back to drinking his coffee.

Axel rolled his eyes and stood up. "I'm gonna go bug Roxas at his work. I'll talk to you later, Zexion."

The younger male waved his goodbye to his friend and smiled to himself as he let himself think of his own boyfriend.

-oOoOoOo-

Leon stretched on his seat on the couch, groaning as the vertebrae in his spine snapped back into their proper positions. He'd been hunched over for a good hour typing away at his novel and was ready for a break.

Standing up and strolled into the kitchen and opened the fridge, sighing as he grabbed the last beer.

Returning to his seat, he relaxed into the couch, closing his eyes and wishing Cloud would just hurry up and come home. Groceries weren't _that_ important.

Sure, Leon liked the peace and quiet once and a while, but he liked Cloud's quiet company. He liked being able to look up from his laptop screen to see his blonde lover sitting in the lazy boy reading, or sleeping, or just thinking.

There was a fast knocking on the front door and Leon groaned, opening his eyes. Standing up, he put his beer down on the coffee table and saved the document he was working on before shutting the laptop.

Another round of knocking sounded and Leon walked over to the door.

"I'm coming, coming. Jeez, calm down." He muttered, flipping the deadbolt and opening the door to see a man he didn't know.

"Hello?"

The man smiled thinly, but his face remained solemn. "Good afternoon. Would this happen to be the residence of a Squall Leonhart?"

"That would be me, how can I help you?"

The man nodded. "It is my understanding a man, Cloud Strife has been living with you?"

"Yes, _how can I help you_?" Now Leon was growing nervous. "Has something happened to Cloud, is he okay?"

The man smiled apologetically. "That's what I'm hear to speak to you about. Mr. Strife has been in an accident, could I please come in and talk to you in private?"

Leon felt his world shatter as he nodded desperately, eyes widening and hands shaking. "Of course, come in, please."

As the man walked past him, Leon managed to marvel at how long the man's silver hair was through his worry about his lover.

**TBC**

_Yes I realize I'm a hooker for that cliffhanger._

_**TAKE THE POLL ON MY PROFILE!**_

_Oh, and the conversation in the last chapter with Axel and Larx? Yeah, Ania and I brainstormed that up during one of our sleepovers…we giggled for like…and hour over it cuz…like…I was doing overdramatic hand gestures…and sound effects…and overdramatic tone of voice and so was she…it was hilarious!_

_**HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALI!**_

_**Thanks go to:**_

_Kurosora: No…no they can't…-:shakes head:- THEY'RE NOT READY UNTIL I SAYS SO! Lawls. And I love you cuz you were the first to review! Lawls!_

_Ania: That was an AMAZING conversation!_

_Dark: -:mutters:-Mousy?-:mutters:- jaykay. Lawls, Selphie…perhaps._

_La Mims: You are? Lol…I PMed you already…lawls._

_Jess: I get confetti?! WOOOOOOOOO! Like you actually saw, like with your own eyes, like you were THERE AND THAT FREAKN' CLOSE TO QUINTON FLYNN?! -:le gasp:- no way. O.O el oh el "yow…ie?" XD I lurv you!_

_Lealay: woo another update but this time I AM EVIL!!_

_Razer Athane: Oh mah gawd, I think you like Jack Sparrow. O.O lol. Yeah…the next chapter of DMTNT is…pretty long…and pretty epic…so…it's going to be a while. -:nods:-_

_Kauri: I loved writing that part of that chapter!_

_Melodious Authoress: You haven't finished reading it yet…but…you reviewed period, so I gives you love! Woo! -:loves:-_

_**Thanks for reviewing! I love you all!**_

_Sooo…yeah!_

_Read, love, review, repeat!_

_Number, kupo,  
August Blue_


	18. You're Poison

_Oh mah gawd. I loved that cliffhanger so much I had to bask in it!!_

_Okies…so…_

_I HAVE A BETA! Woo!_

_You can thank Sabaku no Rebecca for the lack of spelling mistakes and the pure epic of more epic it is! XD_

_You may recognize her as the winner of the lyrics contest for Catching My Soul of Fire. She's amazing. She truly is. She made this chapter so…EPIC and you'll appreciate the lack of spelling mistakes and grammar shizzazle I'm famous for!_

_Onwards, shall we?_

**Chapter 18  
You're Poison**

Leon shut the door to his apartment, running his hand back through his hair worriedly, his entire body shaking slightly. "Was it the motorcycle? I knew that piece of shit was a death trap." He groaned pathetically, covering his face with his large hands.

"Yes, it was the motorcycle that caused it," the other male said shortly, barely glancing over his shoulder back at Leon.

Leon could feel the tears just starting to gather, but fought to hold them back. He had to be strong right now—if not for himself, for Cloud. He couldn't allow worry to make him delirious and irrational. He had to be clear-minded, had to be able to think straight.

"What exactly happened?" Leon asked slowly, body shaking as he struggled to keep his voice calm and even.

"Mr. Leonhart, what is your relationship with Cloud Strife?" the man inquired unexpectedly as he walked over to the couch, his voice tense as he leaned close to the picture.

"Um, we live together. What happened?" Leon replied shortly and quite suddenly he was on the defense.

The man seized the picture from the wall it hung on and inspected it closely before he turned to look at Leon, wearing a tight smirk, all signs of concerned worry and professional sympathy gone from the perfectly sculpted planes of his dangerously beautiful face.

"You are _lovers_?" he asked acutely, waving the picture around slightly as he emphasized the word.

Leon's eyes narrowed into a suspicious glare. "Yeah, so what if we are? What happened to Cloud?" Then Leon's gray-blue eyes widened a fraction. "Who are you?"

The man chuckled, tossing his bangs out of his face as he turned his gaze back to the picture in his hand. "Oh, I'm sure you've heard _a lot_ about me, Mr. Leonhart."

"_Sephiroth_." Leon hissed, the hair on the back of his neck rising. "What have you done with Cloud?!"

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow, smirking, as he glanced back at Leon. "Oh don't you worry. I've done nothing whatsoever with dear, _dear _Cloud. I'm sure he's perfectly safe wherever he went off to. In fact, he should be back any moment now." The man flipped a stray strand of his hair over his shoulder with an elegant flourish of his hand and looked down at the picture. "Send Cloud back home to—"

"_This_ is his home." The brunette took a step towards the tall silverette. "How the _fuck_ did you find him?"

Sephiroth ignored the question and fixed Leon with a startlingly fierce and piercing glare. "The boy belongs to _me_." His voice barely even registered as human now, just a low, threatening rumble in his chest.

"He's not anybody's property, you son of a bitch!" Leon bellowed, cold eyes blazing. "He doesn't _belong_ to anybody!"

"Then you have no claim over him!" Sephiroth roared, hurling the picture across the room, where it smashed and shattered against a wall. The man took a threatening step towards Leon, but the brunette stood his ground. "With that said, he will be coming with _me_ back to Hollow—"

"Over _my dead body_." Leon hissed through clenched teeth, readying the punch he was about to throw.

But before he could so much as raise a hand, he found himself sliding across the carpet, the left side of his face burning, blood running out his nose and flooding his mouth where his teeth tore the inside of his cheek.

Leon rolled onto his back on the floor, glaring up at the man whose hand was still poised in the air from the mean backhand he just delivered.

"As you wish, Mr. Leonhart." Sephiroth growled, striding towards the brunette on the floor, anger setting his green eyes on fire.

-oOoOoOo-

Cloud sighed and swung his leg over and off of the seat of his bike, straightening beside it and stretching his aching limbs. Extending his arms over his head, he groaned as several spots in his back popped and cracked into place.

He glanced at the watch on his wrist and sighed. It was six-thirty, meaning everybody would be home—and he really should check up on the boys. After all, he reminded himself, he wasn't only here to roll around in bed and go on dates with Leon.

Soon he was trudging up the steps to Roxas and Sora's apartment, pausing only briefly to glance at his lover's door as he passed it by.

Knocking on his cousins' door, he waited with folded arms, smirking to himself at the sounds of laughter and the boy's scrambling for the door that issued from inside.

The door flew open and Sora grinned up at him, a disgruntled-looking Riku peeking over the back of the couch.

"Cloud! What's up? Come in!" Sora said happily, stepping to the side so the older man could walk in. "What are you up here for?"

"Just checking in on you guys," Cloud said distractedly, shooting Sora a meaningful look before focusing his gaze around the apartment. "How's Roxas?" he whispered.

Sora scratched the back of his head, smiling significantly as he jerked his head toward the kitchen.

Following the motion with his eyes, Cloud smiled at the sight of his youngest cousin working on dinner at the stove, his tall redheaded boyfriend towering over him while his hands ran up and down the blonde's sides.

"That's good," Cloud said with a smirk and a nod, then turned back to Sora. "Mind if Leon and I join you for dinner? I mean, I was just out clothes shopping, and I doubt Leon has been doing anything but writing today."

"Of course! Stay for dinner!" Sora said happily.

Cloud nodded and as he turned towards the door, he paused. "Hey Sora, has your mom called for me at all?" he asked, his usual pre-exit inquiry. Sometimes the woman would, but Sora would usually forget to mention it.

"Um, I don't _think_ so…" Sora muttered sheepishly, turning around. "Demyx! Has my mum called for Cloud at all?"

Roxas and Axel turned at hearing Sora yelling and smiled at Cloud. "Hey, Cloud!" Roxas said with a wave. Axel walked over to the doorway, leaving his boyfriend to making dinner, still smirking.

Cloud waved briefly at the redhead and averted his gaze. He really knew it was unfair, but the man's green eyes were such a shade of green, they made him uncomfortable, even with the lively fire burning behind them.

The teen called upon came bounding out of his bedroom, shaking his head. "No, but someone else did."

Cloud wrinkled his brow, then looked at the floor as he heard a loud noise from downstairs. Looking at Demyx again, he tilted his head. "Who? Was it Zack or Aerith?"

Demyx shrugged. "He didn't say; just that he was looking for you because you left something behind. And that he was your roommate."

In an instant, the colour drained from Cloud's face, horror flooding his very core, sending his heart pumping violently against the inside of his ribcage. "What did you tell him, Demyx?" Cloud asked, in barely a whisper.

Axel caught Cloud's worried tone and straightened up. "What's going on?" The redhead looked at Sora with narrowed eyes, puzzled.

Demyx also noticed Cloud's horror and cleared his throat. "Um…" he said nervously. "I told him you were staying downstairs with Leon? Why?"

"Shit!" Cloud cried, wrenching the door open. "_Shit!_ Leon!" he yelled as he bolted out the door. Axel and Sora exchanged a quick, frightened glance, then immediately followed him down the stairs.

-oOoOoOo-

'_Shit!'_ Leon thought, rolling to his feet and blocking the punch Sephiroth sent flying at his face. Lifting his right leg, the brunette swung it around to slam into the silverette's left ribs, satisfied with the crack he heard.

Snarling at the pain in his side, Sephiroth tangled the fingers of his right hand into Leon's hair, taking advantage of the other man's one-footed stance to throw the brunette off balance. Wrenching the younger man around, Sephiroth managed to get Leon on his knees in front of him, ignoring the claw-like nails scratching and digging at the hand holding the man's hair.

With a swift arc of the foot, he kicked Leon square in the gut, knocking the wind out of the man. Satisfied with the ragged, gasping breaths of the younger man, Sephiroth pulled his foot back slightly for another kick.

Leon, though unable to breathe, took this opportunity to roll back, toppling the taller man. Spinning away as fast as he was able, Leon staggered to his feet, bringing up a shaking hand to wipe the trailing crimson blood off of his lower lip.

As Sephiroth struggled to roll over and stand up, his hand clutching his wounded left side, Leon walked over unsteadily and firmly stomped his foot down on the silverette's left hand, smirking at the harsh crunch he felt beneath his foot and the tight grimace that gripped Sephiroth's face.

Leon had figured the man must be left-handed, just by the mere strength of the backhand he was dealt earlier.

With a feral growl, Sephiroth let go of his side, ignoring the stabbing pain, and shoved his free hand into his pocket. Sliding out a knife, he flicked it open and swiftly slashed Leon across the shin, effectively freeing his wrist from under the brunette's foot.

Gritting his teeth at the stinging, searing pain in his leg, Leon frantically kicked the knife out of Sephiroth's hand, sending it skating across the floor into the kitchen.

Spinning his muscular body around, Sephiroth kicked Leon's feet out from under him, and the brunette's body hit the floor with an ungraceful and painful _thud_.

Quickly rolling back over, Sephiroth straddled Leon's waist and wrapped his uninjured hand around Leon's throat while moving his left hand in circular motions and popping the joints back into place. The silver-haired man took advantage of his longer reach and kept his own throat out of Leon's grasping fingers' range.

Remembering not to panic about not being able to breathe, Leon started breathing in slowly through his nose, glaring up at Sephiroth. Clenching his right hand into a fist, Leon sent it flying into Sephiroth's left side, gulping in a huge breath as the man's grip loosened on his throat.

Growling viciously, Sephiroth grabbed Leon's wrist, pinning it to the floor next to his head and leaned more heavily into the hand gripping the brunette's throat.

"What a dirty fighter you are, Leonhart." Sephiroth hissed, his eyes narrowed into cold, furious slits.

Leon frantically tried to gasp for air, kicking his legs, arching his back, doing _anything_ to throw the heavier man off. "S-says the one with a knife!" Leon hissed, taking a short breath through his nose as his vision wavered and he began to grow dizzy. "Says the one that be-beats up a kid…t-ten years younger…" Leon trailed off, sucking more air through his nose, black beginning to circle his vision. For a moment, a pattern of black dots blotted out the sight of Sephiroth's face. _'Shit!'_

Sephiroth's grip loosened slightly at the accusation, granting Leon a large gulp of air—but quickly his anger returned tenfold and he clamped his strong, slender digits tightly around the pale column of the brunette's neck. "I—_love_—Cloud—you—_bastard_!" he snarled viciously, nearly shaking with fury.

The brunette grabbed Sephiroth's wrist with his free hand, tugging at it weakly while glaring up at him. "Me…too…but at le-least I don't…beat his pretty…face!"

Sephiroth's green eyes widened in a terrifying twisted mask of hatred and rage. "You son of a bitch!" he shrieked, tearing his throbbing left hand from Leon's wrist to wrap it around his neck as well, both hands now throttling the brunette's throat.

Snatching the slim opening, Leon heaved his fist into the silverette's side, repeatedly pounding his knuckles into the broken ribs while simultaneously arching his back as high as he could.

But Sephiroth had a pain tolerance the brunette couldn't even begin to imagine. The silverette just hissed, spit flying through clenched teeth, and punched Leon hard across the face with his left hand.

Multicolour stars danced across Leon's vision, his body convulsing then going limp, dazed by the blow to his skull. Gasping from the suddenly lancing pain through the right side of his face, he choked as his air was blocked by the hands around his throat.

'_Fuck…No…Cloud!'_ Leon thought desperately as the edges of his vision blurred black, his circle of sight steadily and rapidly shrinking, his struggles weakening. His head was in a fog, though whether it was more from the blow to his head or the lack of air, he couldn't say. He knew he wouldn't be able to hold on much longer.

Lifting his hand difficultly Sephiroth's side, he dug his fingers into the broken ribs, his last attempt at getting free.

He received another blow to the skull. At least with Sephiroth lifting one of his hands away from Leon's neck, the brunette was able to frenziedly suck a tiny bit more air in. He dug his fingers deeper and received a harder thrash.

He blacked out for a moment that time and let his hand fall away from Sephiroth's side, his body falling limp under the older man. Leon's other hand, the one still clawing at the man's wrists desperately, was wearying.

As his mind frosted over, his body losing feeling, Leon let his eyes roll back into his head, letting his hand fall away from Sephiroth's wrists. _'Cloud…'_

And as the brunette let unconsciousness wash over him in a thick, heavy wave, he thought he heard Cloud's voice and let a lazy smile flit across his face.

How nice to hear his love at least one last time, even if it _was_ his own oxygen-deprived imagination.

-oOoOoOo-

Cloud flung open the door to his apartment, blue eyes wide as his eyes landed on Sephiroth strangling Leon.

"_Leon_!" Cloud screeched, tears springing to his eyes as the brunette's frail struggling fell short and a barely-there smile crossed his features. "_No_!"

Axel rushed past Cloud, hauling a crazed Sephiroth away from Leon harshly.

Growling at Axel, Sephiroth stood up, clutching his side. His burning gaze locked on Cloud, only glancing at Sora briefly.

"Cloud…" Sephiroth said in a low, sweet, deceptively soft voice. "Honey, I've come to pick you up. I've come to take you home."

Cloud shook his head furiously and rushed over to join Axel by Leon's side. "Go to hell, Sephiroth!" Cloud muttered tearfully.

The older man snarled and yanked Cloud's arm, whipping him around and backhanding him.

Sora gasped from where he stood at the front door, covering his mouth.

The blonde stared at Leon on the floor, eyes wide and spilling tears, blood filling his mouth. He was sure that if Sephiroth hadn't been holding his arm so tight, he'd have gone flying. Like so many other times before.

"You're coming _home_, Cloud!" His former lover bellowed, now smacking the young blonde with his palm.

Cloud made eye contact with Sora this time, watched the tears roll down the brunette's face. The poor boy, he probably had _never_ actually _witnessed_ someone get hit. He shouldn't have ever even _had_ to see something like this.

Quite suddenly, his face contorted in anger, and he clenched his free hand into a fist and punched Sephiroth in the side, the only place he could really hit that would have had _any_ effect on the taller man.

What Cloud hadn't expect was for the man's side to already be so wounded, but Sephiroth did release Cloud's arm, hissing and clutching at the attacked ribs yet again.

The silver-haired man stared in shock at Cloud, green eyes wide, and suddenly the very man that almost _murdered_ Cloud's lover looked extremely vulnerable.

Shaking his head, Cloud dropped to his knees next to Leon and shoved Axel away a bit, leaning over his lover.

"Leon? Leon, open your eyes." Cloud whispered, grabbing Leon's face lightly, gingerly, tears blurring his vision at the sight of the forming bruises on both sides of his lover's face. "Please Leon, open your eyes."

"I checked his pulse," Axel said softly, still slightly bewildered at the goings-on. "He's still alive. …I'll call the police." And the redhead pulled out his phone.

"_No_." Cloud hissed, looking at Axel. "Do _not_ call the police."

"Cloud…" Sephiroth muttered in a quiet whine, and the blonde whipped around to look at him. But Cloud's glare softened at the unshed tears in the silverette's eyes. "I should go to prison. Look what I did to you, and Squall. I'm a monster—"

"Kadaj needs help, he needs someone who can take care of him. You are of _no_ help in prison, Seph." Cloud said softly, his hands still on Leon's face.

Sephiroth shook his head. "Zack can take care—"

"He's getting _married,_ Sephiroth! He can't possibly care for Kadaj!" Cloud cried plaintively, shaking his head violently. "And you know Loz and Yazoo will just ditch him. He needs _you_, Seph."

Sephiroth stared Cloud straight in the eye and shook his head mournfully. "He needs you—"

"He's _your_ brother and he's sick!" Cloud shouted, eyes narrowed. "_You_ need help, Seph! You're not going to jail. You are going straight back to Hollow Bastion and you're going to use that ridiculous pay check of yours on counseling and therapy."

Sephiroth stared at him, eyes only widening a fraction before he smirked softly and nodded. "Anything for you, Cloud…"

"No." Cloud shook his head, laughing bitterly. "Nothing was _ever_ for me, Sephiroth." The blonde looked down at his lover. "Nothing you ever did was for me. It was always for Angeal and Genesis. You didn't adopt Zack for his own good, you took him in because Angeal would want you to. You didn't love me for _me_. You loved me to erase Angeal's memory."

Cloud bit his lower lip as it began to tremble. Shaking his head again, he looked back at Sephiroth. "So, do this for Angeal. _Angeal_ would want you to get help." He smiled at the older man through his tears—and then gasped at Leon's sudden groan.

"Leon!" Cloud cried, relieved, as the man slowly opened his eyes, the right one swollen almost shut.

His cold grey eyes flickered to Cloud's face and he grimaced. "You're bleeding…" he whispered, reaching up and gently wiping the blood from the corner of Cloud's mouth. Then he started looking around. "Where is that son of a bitch?" he hissed. "Did he hit you? I swear to god, I'll kill—"

"I'm fine, Leon," Cloud interrupted. "We have to get you to the hospital."

Leon shook his head, closing his eyes and swallowing. "I'm fine," he croaked hoarsely, throat raw. "Just—just get me a drink of water."

"Leon, you are bleeding quite profusely from your leg and you were almost suffocated." Axel said flatly, eyeing the nasty slash across Leon's shin.

"And Sephiroth's ribs might be broken." Cloud said softly, remembering how easy it had been to inflict pain on Sephiroth.

Leon swiveled his head to look at Sephiroth, glaring at the tall man. "Good!" he hissed as pain lanced through his neck from the sharp movement of his head.

The silverette glared at Leon briefly before looking away.

"Sora—" Cloud called softly, looking at the short brunette. His younger cousin stared at him with wide, bloodshot eyes. "We need your car, okay?"

The boy nodded and left, wiping his face furiously.

Cloud looked at Axel and smiled softly, minutely. "Thank you, Axel."

Axel just smirked and shrugged, standing up. "Yeah, whatever. But you owe me, Spiky. Got it memorized?"

Leon snorted, his eyes closed. He grimaced as the noise hurt his throat. "Where the hell do _you_ come off calling Cloud 'Spiky'?"

Axel just laughed and walked to the door, only pausing to glare at Sephiroth once. "I should go back up. Demyx is probably a wreck and I don't want Roxie's dinner to go to waste." With one final wave, Axel left, passing Sora at the bottom of the stairs.

"I got my keys, Cloud," the younger man murmured from the doorway.

At Axel's remark about Demyx, Cloud remembered how he left the boy. "How's Demyx?"

Sora shrugged, cerulean eyes flickering towards Sephiroth as he stepped in, closing the door. "He's upset. He thinks you hate him. Riku was trying to calm him down and Roxas was calling Zexion. He…thinks that it's his fault that anything happened to Leon." Sora ended in a whisper, glancing again at Sephiroth.

Cloud looked at Sephiroth as well before looking down at Leon as the man started to struggle into a sitting position.

"I guess I'm going to have to knock some sense into the kid," Leon murmured before contorting his face in thought. His eyes were still closed. "Wrong wording. I actually started the fight." He laughed weakly, looking at Sephiroth as he opened his non-swollen eye.

"No you didn't." Sephiroth said flatly, not finding the humor in all of this.

"Yes I did. I distinctly remember being rude and about to punch you," Leon insisted, looking at Cloud. "I'm fine, Cloud, really. No need to go to the hospital."

Cloud glared and shook his head. "You're going, whether you like it or not. I'm taking Sephiroth anyway, so you might as well come along."

"I'll drive," Sora offered quietly. He looked so broken in that moment, glancing between the three men. "He…he hit you really hard, Cloud."

Leon's head whipped around to glare at Sephiroth, moving to scramble to his feet, but Cloud held him down.

"Leon!" He hissed, oceanic eyes locking with stormy, his head shaking. "Leave it alone."

Leon's good eye narrowed before he settled down on the floor again, turning his head to look at Sephiroth. "I heard something about therapy as I was coming to?"

"You were awake?" Cloud asked, shocked.

"Not exactly," Leon replied, shrugging. "But I was hearing bits and pieces." Then he coughed, rubbing his throat. "My neck hurts," he muttered, cringing.

"That's why you should go to the hospital," Cloud said sternly.

Leon smirked slightly at the blonde. "…If it makes you feel better."

"It will," Cloud confirmed, looking back at Sora. "Okay Sora, you can drive. You know this town the best anyway, other than Leon."

The blonde got up from sitting to crouching, balancing on the balls of his feet and put his arm around Leon's back, grabbing the man's arm and putting it over his shoulder. "Ready?"

With Leon's nod, Cloud started to ease up onto his feet, pausing to help his lover stand whenever the man was struggling. Finally, they stood together and hobbled over to the front door to stand with Sora.

"Are you coming…uh…Sephiroth?" Sora asked nervously, glancing at Cloud and Leon before looking back at the taller man.

The older man nodded and followed the other three out of the apartment, shutting the door behind them all.

-oOoOoOo-

Sora walked into his apartment, sighing heavily, eyes shutting tight. Luckily, now that school was out, he could sleep in tomorrow. He didn't work until eleven. He got off just in time to take Riku to group therapy.

"So what's happening?"

Sora jumped, blue eyes landing on the couch where his boyfriend still sat. "What are you still doing here?"

Riku shrugged, looking down at his hands, face betraying hurt. "Axel stayed over and I don't like going home to an empty apartment. I didn't think you would mind."

The brunette shook his head, hurrying over to the couch to sit next to Riku. "That's not what I meant. I just thought you'd have gone home already. And everyone's okay, relatively speaking."

Riku wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, resting his chin on Sora's shoulder, huffing in the brunette's ear. "What does that mean?"

"Well…Cloud's ex came and beat Leon up pretty good, though Leon got him good too. I think Sephiroth just got lucky. Anyway…they went to the hospital with the story that they got mugged. Weak story if you ask me, but whatever…" Sora murmured, turning his body so he was snuggled against Riku's chest, nuzzling his head under Riku's chin. He moved his legs so he was sitting more on Riku's lap and sighed happily as the other man wrapped his arms around him.

"What are they doing about…" Riku couldn't remember the name Sora said, wrinkling his brow in thought.

"…Sephiroth? Sending him home. Cloud convinced him to go to therapy. He has like…a sick brother or something." Sora yawned against the crook of Riku's neck, planting a soft kiss there. "They're staying at the hospital for the night and Sephiroth is going back home tomorrow."

"Crisis over?" Riku whispered, starting to fall asleep with his lover curled up on his lap.

"Yeah…" Sora whispered back, smiling against Riku's skin. "Are we just going to fall asleep right here?"

"Why not?" Riku asked quietly, sleepily, like he was already almost asleep.

Sora shrugged. "The bed's comfier."

"I'm just fine right where we are."

"Yeah, but Roxas and Axel have to get up earlier than I do to go to work." Sora murmured, groaning when he pulled away from Riku's body heat and stood up. Grabbing Riku's hand, he pulled the man to his feet and led him down the hall to his bedroom.

-oOoOoOo-

Cloud climbed out of Sora's car, turning to help his boyfriend out, pulling the man's crutches out after and handing them to him. The doctor hadn't said anything about crutches, but Cloud felt _much_ better when Leon wasn't putting any weight on his stitched up leg.

And Leon said it. Whatever made Cloud feel better.

"Hey Sora, help Leon back to the apartment?" Cloud said to his cousin, looking up at Leon before placing a soft kiss on the man's lips.

Sora nodded and, locking eyes with Leon, inclined his head towards the apartments.

Cloud knew the younger man wasn't in a good mood. He was expecting to get a nap in after dropping Riku off at therapy, but Cloud had called and "since he was on the road, he might as well swing by the hospital and pick them up." Cloud felt a twinge of guilt, since he knew that Sora could be suckered into _anything_, even committing murder, if you gave your pitch correctly.

Leon gimped after Sora, and Cloud had to chuckle, for he knew as soon as his brunette lover was out of his range of sight, he would ditch the crutches and walk the rest of the way.

Looking back at Sephiroth, his smile slipped away, anger starting to sweep through him. "What you did was unforgivable Sephiroth. Don't think that I'm not _pissed_ just because I'm not calling the police."

Sephiroth shook his head, chuckling. "I know you're angry Cloud. Despite what you think of me, I _do_ know how to read you. We lived with each other for how many years, after all?"

Cloud let his anger calm a bit and sighed, running a hand back through his blonde spikes. "You better _never_ show up here again, Seph. Leon may have been joking around with you, but he does that to cover up. He would kill you in a heartbeat."

"I believe that." Sephiroth conceded, watching his ex-lover's face as the younger man thought. "I _am_ sorry. For everything I did to you, and to Leon. I know you won't forgive me for almost killing him, but I hope you could forgive me for what I did to you."

Cloud nodded silently. "I'll think about it." Then he cringed, looking up at Sephiroth. "You haven't been hitting Kadaj, have you? Or the other two?"

Sephiroth laughed bitterly, shaking his head. "Yazoo and Loz…those two have been sneaking around the house, avoiding me. I actually have no idea where Kadaj has been hiding."

"The attic. He hides in the attic when you start getting… frustrated." Cloud muttered, looking down at his feet. "Or the forest behind the house when you're _really_ angry."

The silverette sighed heavily, closing his eyes. "That's why he needs _you_. You know him—"

"I only know where he hides because I was the one that always had to find him after you got angry." Cloud growled, glaring up at the man. "I only know how to take care of him because I was _locked_ in the prison you call a home. _You_ have to take responsibility for _your_ family."

The other man stared at the blonde in shock, only his eyes showing emotion. Finally he sighed, tossing a lock of silver hair over his shoulder. "Are you happy here, Cloud?"

"Extremely." He replied instantly, not even having to think about it.

Sephiroth smiled and nodded. "I should be leaving now. I have quite the drive ahead of me." He shoved a hand into his pocket and pulled out his car keys. "If you're ever in town, you should come by and visit. Kadaj would appreciate it."

Cloud offered a small smile. "He always loved you more, Seph. Even when you smacked him around."

Sephiroth nodded and turned a bit to walk away before pausing, looking back at Cloud, almost as if he were expecting something. Then, with a soft chuckle, he turned completely and walked across the parking lot to his sleek, black car, hand holding his side as he strode off.

Turning around, Cloud hurried to his apartment, eager to be alone with his lover.

Walking through the door, knowing Sora was gone, having passed him at the stairs, he immediately let his tears spill over. The tears he had been holding in since the day before. He never actually let his tears fall. He was always being strong for _someone_.

But now that it was he and his lover, the lover who would literally die for Cloud, as it seemed, he could finally be the lost, broken, worried person that was screaming inside his head.

"Leon?" He called, not seeing his boyfriend in the living room or the kitchen. He kicked his shoes off roughly and stumbled a bit down the hall, eyes blurred with tears. The brunette wasn't in the bathroom.

Opening the bedroom door quickly, Cloud hurried over to the bed, hearing Leon moving around in the closet. Pulling off his pants and shirt, the blonde got ready for bed, despite his tears and that it was only five in the afternoon.

He had to laugh as he saw the crutches lying in a heap on the floor. He knew Leon was going to eventually ditch the crutches entirely, whether of not Cloud was watching.

"Cloud, is that you?"

Leon hobbled out of the closet, eyes following the tears' path down Cloud's perfectly smooth cheeks and he frowned, sitting carefully on the edge of the bed, reaching out to grab the blonde's hand. "Cloud, what's wrong? Did he do anything to you?"

Cloud just shook his head, laughing softly to himself. "No, Sephiroth didn't…do anything. I think I just have to calm down." He whispered, wiping his face with the backs of his fingers. "It's just all hitting me at once. I almost lost you, Leon."

Cloud choked on his voice, a knot suddenly tied in his windpipe, the floodgates flipped open in his tear ducts. "Shit," he moaned, releasing a shuddering sob as he bit his fist.

Leon sighed, pulling Cloud across the bed, keeping their hands clasped together while he threw his other arm around Cloud's waist. Pulling his blonde lover tight against his chest, Leon waited out the man's sobs, closing his eyes and rocking lightly, planting soft kisses across soft, golden spikes.

"You didn't lose me, Cloud." Leon whispered calmly, kissing Cloud's ear softly before pulling away to look into the deep blue eyes he loved almost as much as the man himself.

His stormy eyes traced the features of his lover's face, his fingers coming up to brush along the slight bruise on the man's right cheek. "You're bruised…" Leon whispered, leaning forward to kiss the bruise tenderly.

"_I'm_ bruised?" Cloud hissed, making a face, sounding almost insulted. "Leon, have you even looked in a mirror?"

Leon chuckled, shaking his head. "No, but I can venture a guess. Look, it seems you're messed up, I'm pretty messed up, so let's just sleep off our irrationality and then we'll talk in the morning."

Cloud's eyes searched Leon's for a moment before his smiled softly, his tears still running in steady streams. "Okay." He whispered, closing his eyes as Leon wiped away his tears.

"Oh, god, I love you so much Cloud." Leon whispered desperately, pressing his lips against Cloud's desperately, hungry and needy.

Returning the kiss, Cloud gladly gave into the tight and borderline painful embrace from the other man, almost _needing_ this attack of affection to prove to himself that Leon hadn't actually died and he was living in some dream.

But just as suddenly as it started, Leon pulled away, gasping slightly, tears rimming his eyes. "I love you," he whispered again.

"I love you, too." Cloud replied in the same tone, leaning forward for a softer, less violent kiss now that he was convinced this was real.

**TBC**

_WOOO! Again, thank you Sabaku no Rebecca!_

_**Quick thanks to **__TheNonExistentOne, Delayed-Reaction, Ania24, Melodious Authoress, Jess, kurosora, Dark(Mousy), Kitty-Cat-Kauri, Foxxetta (that's TOTALLY cool if you story alert!), wolfin, Zoa, lealayevergreen, Lord Stray of Heart, DarkWings, Sad Kuroneko, Becca-Blossom, The Tee Outside Your Window, mah beta, TMX Archives, Axel-Seme, __**and**__ SubconsciousDomain__**!!**_

_So yeah! Hope you enjoyed!_

_Read, love, review, repeat!_

_Number, kupo,  
August Blue_


	19. AUTHOR'S NOTE (please read)

_(Yes I am aware of the illegality of Author's Notes. Whatever)_

Hello everyone! Long time, no see!

First of all, I would like to start with the bad news. That chiefly being; _Catching My Soul on Fire_ will not be returning. **PUT THE PITCHFORKS DOWN, and allow me to explain.** I fully intended on rewriting it, and then I lost motivation. I decided I would edit it instead then reupload it. Long story short, my laptop crashed and had to be reformatted and CMSoF did not make it through the ordeal. Considering a vast majority of my original fiction didn't make it either, I think my heartache might be a little bit greater.

Also, I will not be revisiting _One Headlight_ and _No Sound but the Wind_, or _Key to My Soul_. I have very little motivation to write anything within the Kingdom Hearts fandom, and I'm kind of done writing for other people. What I mean by that is, a lot of what I was writing, I was writing _for my readers_ and wasn't enjoying a single moment of it. I do all of my writing for myself now, especially now that I'm out of school and don't have my main pod of readers surrounding me for 6 hours every day for 5 days. I do not say this to make you feel bad or anything, that is just the plain and simple truth.

Now, the good news(?)!

**I have hit the Hobbit fandom hard**, and seem to be one of the most prolific authors. It is all wildly inappropriate subject matter (basically it's porn), so you will find none of it on this site! You can find all of my work on my Tumblr (thorinsexenshield) or my AO3 (also, thorinsexenshield).

I'm coming out and being completely honest with you guys here in saying that there is likely to _never_ be any updates to any of my fics on this site and CMSoF is _never_ coming back. Now, I understand disappointment, but any unnecessary negativity I receive about this will be promptly deleted, and/or ignored.

Thank you so much for your understanding, and I hope to see some of you guys again. :)

Number, kupo,

August Blue


End file.
